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Farm Development 

An Introduiftory Book in Agriculture 

Including a Discussion of Soils, Sele<fling ®t Planning Farms, 
Subduing the Fields, Drainage, Irrigation, Roads, Fences, 
Together with IntroduAory Chapters Concerning Farm Busi- 
ness, and the Relations of General Science to Agriculture 



By 



WILLET M. HAYS, M. Agr. 

Formerly Professor of Agriculture, University of Minnesota 
Now Assistant Secretary U. S. Department of Agriculture 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

LONDON 

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Limited 
1910 



^^> 



i 



Copyright, 1910, by 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

All Rithts Reserved 



Entered at Stationers' Hall 
LONDON. ENGLAND 



Printed in the U. S. A, 



€■CI.A:^?5?4'> 



PREFACE 

This l)Ook was prepared from notes used in giving 
instruction to classes in tlie Agricultural High School — 
of secondary grade — of the University of Minnesota. 

he students were nearly all from farm homes and nearly 
all expected to return to the country to live. Their needs, 
and the point of view in compiling this book, are those 
of the common farmer. In editing these notes an effort 
has been made to adapt the text to the agricultural high 
school, to the consolidated rural and village school, and 
even to advanced classes in the rural district school, and 
to the needs of the farmer's home library. Since no 
attempt is here made more than to introduce the several 
subjects, the farmer or pupil reading this book who 
wishes to pursue the subject in detail should seek advice 
of the State agricultural college and the Department of 
Agriculture as to the best up-to-date available literature 
published b} public and ]jrivate agencies. 

The chapters dealing with rural engineering" are designed 
to give to the farmer a general explanation of drainage, 
road making, etc., for his own use rather than to train him 
for service in engineering. The engineer's point of view 
is onl}' incidental, and the rural engineer's interest will 
hQ mainly confined to the practical suggestions. Very 
helpful aid in revising the manuscript has been rendered 
l)y my associates, Messrs. Andrew Boss, C. P. Bull, John 
Thompson, William G. Smith, John G. Haney, E. C. 
Parker, PI. H. Mowry and Maurice O. "Eldridge. 

W. M. HAYS. 



t 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Preface iii 

I Introduction I 

II Farming as a Vocation 13 

III Agricultural Substances Carry Force . . 19 

IV Geological History of the Farth .... 32 
\^ The Soil and Soil Formation 51 

VI The Selection of a Farm Home .... 89 

VII Planning the Farm 96 

ATII Subduing the Land 117 

IX Drainage 140 

X Irrigation 234 

XI Roads and Bridges 272 

XII Fences 355 

Index 385 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Figures Page 

1 Engine with single steam chest 22 

2 Tandem compound engine 22 

3 Common Blue Stem wheat 23 

4 New wheat originated by selection 23 

5 Cow bred for beef 24 

6 Cow specially bred for the dairy 24 

7 Map of Great Glacier and old Lake Agassiz 45 

8 Cross section of Minnesota river 46 

9 Cross section of Mississippi river 46 

10 Ancient and present drainage basin of Minnesota river. . 47 

1 1 Levels of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in glacial 

times 48 

12 Falls of St. Anthony at beginning of its recession 48 

13 Mississippi river at the Falls of St. Anthony 49 

14 Diagrammatic map showing origin of Minnehaha falls . 49 

1 5 Valley of a glacial river 50 

16 Gorge formed by cutting of glacial floods 50 

1 7 Corn plant at four stages 72 

18 Stem roots of corn plant nearly ready to tassel 73 

19 Crown and stem roots of mature wheat plant 74 

20 Pot containing artificially dried soil 75 

21 Pot of soil illustrating absorption of moi.sture 75 

22 Pot of soil moistened by rain 77 

23 Pot of soil illustrating action of capillarity 77 

24 Pot of soil containing ground water 78 

2 5 Pot of soil in state of saturation 78 

26 Pot of soil after drainage of grotind water 79 

27 Pot of soil illustrating the action of capillarity 79 

28 Pot of soil dried by exposure to air and baking 80 

29 Pot of air-dried soil containing only hygroscopic water 81 

30 Capillary action illustrated in glass tubes of large and 

small diameter 82 

31 Capillary action between plates of glass 82 

32 Capillary action in lamp wick 83 

33 Soil saturated, with standing water at the bottom 84 

34 Subsoil, furrow-slice and dust lilanket 84 

3 5 Pervious mass of soil over a layer of iniperviotis clay or 

stone 85 

36 How flowing wells occur 86 

37 Plan of farnastead with road on north 101 

38 Plan of farmstead with road on east and south 102 

39 Plan of farmstead fronting road on south 103 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Figures Page 

40 Plan of farmstead tronting road on west 104 

41 Plan of 160 acre farm 106 

42 Rotation scheme on map of farm 107 

43a Crops of the year on map of farm 108 

43b Plan of Olson farm before reorganization 109 

43c Olson farm as replanned 110 

43d Plan of Harlan farm before reorganization Ill 

43e Harlan farm as replanned 112 

43f Map showing records of 1910 crops 113 

44 Tools used for clearing land 118 

45 Capstan stump puller 119 

46 Use of windlass and "stump hook" or "root plow" 120 

47 Methods of hitching sttimp pullers 122 

48 Mud boat 128 

49 Low or handy wagon 128 

50 Stone boat 130 

5 1 Peat hook 130 

52 Burning surface peat in Germany 132 

53 Placing bog shoes on a horse 133 

54 Breaking plow with rolling coulter 136 

55 Breaking plow with standing coulter 136 

56 Common gang plow with breaker bottoms 137 

57 Surveyor's transit 157 

58 20-inch wye level 158 

59 Leveling instrtiment made of mason's spirit level 159 

60 Mason's level on tripod with sights 160 

61 Homemade leveling instrument 161 

62 Band chain of steel 162 

63 Surveyor's chain folded 163 

64 Surveyor's chain partly folded 163 

65 Surveyor's draw pin 164 

66 Surveyor's alignment rod 164 

67 Surveyor's leveling rod 165 

68 Surveyor's grade stakes 165 

69 Simple plan of mapping to record location of outlet 

drain and branches 1 66 

70 Portion of a drainage map 167 

7 1 Map of a drain through pond 168 

72 Map of system of tile drains on 160-acre farm 170 

73 Map showing drainage of a 480-acre farm 171 

74 Common drain tiles 172 

7 5 Union tiles 172 

76 Collared drain tiles or sewer pipes 173 

7 7 Branched collared tiles 173 

78 Plat showing elevations on a 40-acre field 174 

79 Contour lines used in planning drains 175 

80 Map of a "section" of level land drained by surface drains 176 

81 Blank form used in recording notes of levels 185 

81a Manner of using leveling instrument 186 



LIST oi" ILLrSTRATIONS 



Figures Page 

82 Blank form used in recording measurements of levels 

taken down grade 1 90 

83 Profile showing surface and grade line of ditch 192 

84 System of mapping drains and sizes of tiles in a low 

place 195 

85 Cross section of field showing elevation of soil above the 

datum plane 197 

86 Cross section of field showing the depth of the ditch as 

finally calculated 197 

87 How water seeks the drains 198 

88 Showing disposition of earth handled with road machine 

and spade 199 

89 Different dimensions of ditch for receiving drain tiles of 

different sizes 200 

90 Tile or ditching spade 201 

91 Small tile spade 201 

92 Tile hoe for grading bottom of tile ditch 202 

92a Tile hoe, adjustable to push or pull 202 

93 Method of spading out successive courses in opening a 

ditch for tiles 203 

94 Showing the successive operations necessary in construct- 

ing tile drain 204 

95 Triangular tile drain grader 205 

96 Grading frame used in leveling bottom of tile ditch .... 206 

97 Mason's level 207 

98 Detail of construction of grading frame 207 

99 Students preparing ditch for laying tile 208 

100 Students constructing tile drain 209 

101 Manner of accurately determining the proper depth to 

grade bottom of the ditch 210 

102 Effects of faulty grading of bottom of ditch 210 

103 Laying tile drains 211 

104 Tile hook 212 

105 Masses of maple roots taken from drain tiles 213 

106 Filling tile ditch with drag or slush scraper 214 

107 Filling tile ditch with especially constructed scraper. . . . 214 

108 Filling tile ditch with a reversible road machine 215 

109 Tile-ditching machine opening four-foot ditch 216 

110 Mole ditcher 217 

111 Outlet to tile drain or to earthen pipe culvert 218 

112 Outlet to drain protected by masonry 218 

113 Improperly protected outlet for drain 219 

114 General plan of silt well 220 

115 Drag or slush scraper 220 

1 1 5a Fresno scraper 221 

116 Wheel scraper lowered for filling 221 

117 Reversible road machine making lateral ditches 222 

1 18 Form of ditch beside fence line 222 

119 Elevating grader opening large ditch 223 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX 



Figures Page 

!20 Floating dredge 223 

121 Open ditch showing slope of banks 224 

!22 Proper form of siirface ditch where earth is firm 224 

123 Ditch made with capstan ditching plow 224 

124 Angle of repose where ditch banks have caved in 225 

125 Ditch in a soil which caves in easily from washing. ... 225 

126 Ditch made with spade through peaty soil 225 

127 Narrow, deep ditch with braced poles protecting the 

sides from washing 226 

128 Plat of pond draining into drainage well 226 

129 Cross section of tiled pond discharging into drainage well 

beside pond 227 

130 Vertical outlet for tile drains through imjiervious stratum 227 

131 Drains constructed of field stones 228 

132 Drains constructed of boards 228 

133 Longitudinal section of a pole drain in peaty land. . . . 229 

134 Cross section of a pole drain in peaty land 229 

135 Drainage pumping station 230 

136 Irrigation supply ditch carried across low areas and 

through land at grade 235 

137 Method of fluming water supply across low places. ... 235 

138 Windmill and storage reservoir for irrigation water. . . . 236 

139 Portable steam pump for flooding rice fields 237 

140 Stationary steam pump for irrigation 240 

141 Flowing artesian well in Nebraska 242 

142 Raiding water by hand in Egypt 244 

143 How irrigation and drainage systems can be installed on 

the same farm 246 

144 Supplying irrigation water by pumping 248 

145 Model of irrigation plant 249 

146 Trial survey line and adopted course for main irrigation 

canal 250 

147 Drop in irrigation ditch 251 

148 Division box in irrigation ditch 252 

149 Simple head gate for irrigation ditch 253 

1 50 Head gate or turnout for regulating and measuring water 

to farmer's ditch 2 54 

1 5 1 Measviring weir 255 

1 52 Details of weir board 256 

153 Measuring weir 257 

154 Plank scraper for opening irrigation ditch 258 

155 Plank scraper in use 259 

156 Supplv ditch as made with reversible road machine. . . . 260 

157 Ditch for farm lateral made with ordinary stubble plow 260 

1 58 Biped leveling device 261 

1 59 Manner of using biped leveling device 262 

160 Detail of adjustable leg of biped leveling device 262 

161 Grade level of light planed boards 263 

162 Listing plow for making shallow ditches 263 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Figures Page 

248 Three-wire barbed cattle-fence 363 

249 Tool for splicing wires 364 

250 Light portable fence 366 

251 Hedge experiment at Minnesota Agriculttiral College. . . 366 

252 Buckthorn hedge beside roadway 367 

253 Mold for making concrete posts 368 

254 Different forms of concrete posts 369 

255 Concrete corner posts built in place 370 

256 Manner of building concrete posts in place 371 

257 Cement posts faced with wooden stay 372 

258 Cement posts with wire loops for spacing fence wires. . . . 372 

259 Cement corner post carrying iron gate 373 

260 Cement corner posts, brace post, and brace 373 

261 Stretching a ribbon of woven wire to attach it to a cor- 

ner post 374 

262 Cement corner posts and braces molded in place 374 

263 Cement corner posts and braces all made in place for 

woven wire fence 375 

264 Well-braced cement corner post and cement line posts. . 375 

265 One of the very best sy.stems of bracing wooden end 

posts 376 

266 Poor method of bracing corner posts 376 

267 Good method of bracing wooden corner posts 377 

268 Bracing end post with rocks 378 

269 Bracing end post with steel rod and "dead man" of iron 378 

270 Bracing corner post 379 

271 Bracing end post with wire cables and "dead man" of 

stone 379 

272 Common three-board slide gate 380 

273 Rustic and serviceable pioneer gate 380 

274 Swing gate 381 

275 Western slide gate 381 

276 Steel slide gate 382 

277 Single hinged drive gate of angle iron and wire 382 

278 Large gate adapted for entrance to farm 382 

279 Paddock gate 383 

280 Heavy paddock gate 383 

281 Stile across a wire fence 384 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 



Agricultural science and art deal with the production, 
from the soil, of foods, clothing, wood and other useful 
materials. Many of the natural sciences have a theoret- 
ical and a practical bearing on this greatest of the pro- 
ductive industries ; and the arts which have a useful 
relation to farming are numerous and varied. In no 
other vocation are the sciences and the arts so extensively 
and intimately interwoven. 

While some persons with comparatively little book learn- 
ing make money by farming, there is no other vocation in 
which there is so much useful and interesting knowledge 
that applies directly to the business and to the home. 
Differing from any other vocation, the business and the 
home are here a unit ; and the family-sized farm, the 
" family farm," is our most important business, educa- 
tional, social, and racial institution. In no other element 
of our national organization is Americanism so well 
exemplified ; its democracy is well-nigh complete. 
None other of our institutions is more worthy of being 
copied by the people of other countries, because the 
separate family farm, supplemented by the consolidated 
" farm school," uniting the apprenticeship work of the 
farm and the home with the general and technical work 
of the farm school, will provide the best conditions 
under which to develop superior races of men and 
women. The farmer and the farm home maker need 
to exercise great wisdom in selecting, from the mass 



2 FARM DKVELOPMExNfT 

of daily experience and from book knowledge, practical 
facts and theories which are of the highest importance 
in acquiring success under his or her environment. 

Home training. — Most of the plain farm arts, as plow- 
ing, sowing, harvesting, feeding, breeding, buying and 
selling, and much c^f the mechanical work of the farm. 
are best learned by e\eryday practice in the business. 
This is also the case with the home arts, as cooking, sew- 
ing, house decorating, home making, entertaining and 
character building. A\'ithout practical experience the 
would-be farmer is not adept in selecting the practical 
methods and theories from the great mass of available 
thought and adapting them to his conditions. , Those 
who have more theoretical knowledge than practical 
experience are not inclined to be conservative in adopt- 
ing new theories and new practices; on the other hand, 
those who lack training in scientific theory are not 
usually capable of working out new things of practical 
importance. A combination of theoretical and practical 
knowledge is necessary for the best success in any line 
of effort; and in no line of business is this more true 
than in farming. 

Technical and scientific as well as practical knowledge 
is of daily and yearly value in the home and on the farm ; 
and in these progressive times every person should be 
constantly in the attitude of an incpiirer, a student. All 
the agencies yielding useful information should be 
utilized. Agricultural periodicals, books on agricultural 
subjects, speeches at farmers' institutes and other 
farmers' meetings are sources of much information re- 
garding farm life and farm business. Much of the best 
information and many theories of farm and farm home 
management may be acquired by young farmers from 
iheir parents and from intelligent folk with whom they 
associate. Consultation with those who have made a 
success of any special line of home or farm development 



INTRODUCTION 3 

is probably the most important source of information 
and advice. Personal friends, to whom one can trust his 
plans for suggestive and curative advice, are most im- 
portant agencies to l)e employed with conservative free- 
dom by farmers whose isolation makes necessary an 
effort to measure their plans through the minds of others. 
Giving suggestions to a friend is one of the opportunities 
for doing good ; and every true man and woman sacredly 
keeps confidences given while another is asking advice. 
Technical education in agriculture. — Schools to pro- 
mote the professions have long been organized. Alore 
recently, schools for the business vocations and for the 
mechanical trades are being established ; schools of 
agriculture, which earlier proved difificult of develop- 
ment, ha\e in recent years been made to succeed, and 
schools of household economics have been even later 
in their development. Schools designed to give instruc- 
tion in agriculture and farm home making have as won- 
derful possibilities in building up rural business and 
country life as have schools of medicine in advancing 
the cause of preventive and curative medicine. Schools 
which teach agricultin^e are most useful to those persons 
who are so fortunate as to receive the advantages they 
afford before settling down to life's business of home 
making and farming. These schools have also a very 
great value in giving dignity, profit, and comfort to farm- 
ers as a class, and in providing more and cheaper farm 
products for all classes of people. These schools teach 
the underl3nng principles which govern farm and home 
management and add to the practical knowledge which 
every farm Ijoy or girl ac(|uires in youth. Many of the 
erroneous notions gained from the experiences of one 
isolated farm, or from ])ractical people who sometimes 
have wrong theories, are here corrected. By coming in 
daily contact with able teachers and bright fellow-stu- 
dents, the boy or girl from the farm is enabled to obtain a 



4 FARM DEVELOPMEXT 

broader view of the questions of life and business. At 
the same time, the use of the naturalist's microscope, the 
chemist's crucible and balance, and other instruments of 
precision, trains the student's eye so that he sees and 
appreciates many things on the farm which previously 
had little or no meaning. The daily routine of class 
work, of note and essay writing, of searching for refer- 
ences, of recitation in class, and of work in the literary 
societies, places the mind of the pupil on a new plane. 
He returns home with new power to do the thinking 
necessary to higher development in farm life. 

The young man gains dexterity in the arts of carpentry, 
blacksmithing, dairying, breeding, feeding, and in the rais- 
ing and handling of forage, grain, garden and other crops ; 
the young woman becomes more expert in the arts of 
cookery, sewing and home keeping; while both gain 
added power in character building in the home and in 
the community. Broader views of farm planning, farm 
improvement, and farm management are also acquired. 
The mind is made more active and more accurate; formal 
processes of figuring and planning and of doing things 
are learned ; the books from which to seek specific in- 
formation are made known ; and at the same time the 
hand is trained to execute work with greater precision. 
Even systematic military and jjhysical training are pro- 
vided by the state in its local and general schools which 
instruct in agriculture, thus giving the students complete 
body development. By doing things w^ith hand and mind 
under a trained expert, a student learns to do them accu- 
rately and to think clearly and ra])idly. Dealing both 
with things and with printed pages, the mind does not 
lose its originality and versatility, as when the education 
deals only with the words of books. 

Education consists largely in the training of the judg- 
ment. Practical experience in life gives more natural 
training than does attending school. But the intense 



INTRODUCTION 5 

training of the school — the training' to think consecu- 
tively and logically, and to do things well under super- 
vision — the establishment of ideals, and the storing of a 
broad knowledge, make the school a necessary part of a 
person's experience. The education of practical experi- 
ence and of the school must be combined to produce the 
well-rounded man or woman. The more practical educa- 
tion of the industrial and technical school subjects trains 
the judgment to deal with things. The modern stock judg- 
ing or corn judging class, for example, gives the mind a 
grasp on the practical differences in values which make 
wealth, and gives the man a confidence in himself and an 
ability to do things as well as to think things. " Instruc- 
tion in judging is closely akin to training the common 
sense, and is the highest class of pedagogy." 

The Nation and the States have come to recognize that 
the business of farming is peculiarly aided by vocational 
education in agriculture and home economics. Since the 
people of the farm are somewhat isolated, it is especially 
important that young people who are to be the future 
farmers should go to schools where they can make farm- 
ing and farm home making a study under a faculty of 
strong technical teachers, and where they can have 
acquaintance and experience among large numbers of 
people. 

It is wise economy on the part of the State to establish 
schools where a large percentage of the young farmers 
can get a good education in agriculture and home mak- 
ing along with schooling in the general subjects. By in- 
creasing the ability of the individual to make his work 
produce more, the State gains a larger income, and the 
individual and national life become richer and more 
highly developed. The 3'oung men or the young women 
who spend a few years in the technical study of those 
practical things with which they must deal every day of 
then- lives, get much benefit from the means expended 



O FARM DEVELOPMENT 

by the State for agricultural schools, and in turn the}^ 
may be. and are, more useful to their neighboring citi- 
zens and to the State. 

The fact that, for every dollar the student spends for 
Iiis education, the State and the Nation pay another, puts 
him in debt to the country; and he should show pro- 
found gratitude by being a more successful, a more use- 
ful and a more public-spirited citizen. Agriculture de- 
mands the best exercise of both the brain and muscle of 
the youth, and thus aids in building up strong character. 
Agriculture should be fostered ; it should be aided to the 
utmost so that our lands, growing in productiveness, and 
the inherited and acquired character of our country peo- 
ple may continue to be the enduring foundations of the 
republic. 

Our statesmen and educators should co-operate in 
devising a system of country life education which will 
enable those who work the land to own it in farms of 
family size. Though it might appear that the large estate 
with transient or semi-peasant labor would produce food 
and clothing for the Nation more cheaply than does the 
family farm, folks are the land's supreme product; and 
when the land is divided off into family farms, needing 
only occasional outside help, the production per square 
mile of farm homes and of high-type Americans is 
greatly increased. 

The larger values per acre of farm lands, the larger 
income per acre and per farm worker, the better invest- 
ment in farm buildings, fences, machinery and live stock, 
all being made possible and increased by modern dis- 
covery, invention and organization, and the larger produc- 
tion of better farm folks, make possible any reasonable 
expenditure for education in country life subjects. The 
system of schools outlined above will increase taxes on 
land and on personal property. It will, however, take 
off such a load of ignorance, of wasted opportunity, of 



INTRODUCTION / 

poor crops, of unprofitable animals, of loss in marketing", 
of political inefficiency, of undeveloped social enjoy- 
ments, and of unlovely country homes, that its annual 
cost will more than be made up every quarter of a year. 
America can no more afford to do without an efficient 
system of education, adapted to those who are to manage 
its farms and its farm homes, which will bring- to the 
farmers the full benefit of modern knowledge, facilities 
and organization, than it could afford to discard modern 
railways. 

Institutions devoted to education for country life. — 
In 1862, during the Civil war, the Congress of the 
United States took two important steps to organize 
technical education in agriculture. The first provided 
for institutions to build up a body of scientific knowledge 
of agriculture : to serve both as a general fund of in- 
formation to all who farm and as the substance of 
instruction in agriculture in schools. The second provided 
for a system of schools especially devoted to country 
life. Along with the latter, provisions were also made 
for education in mechanic arts, the combined work being 
provided for in a State college of agriculture and the 
mechanic arts in each State; and education in home 
economics has grown up in these institutions along with 
education in the productive industries. 

The scientific institutions which have grown out of 
the first of these acts of Congress are the United States 
Department of Agriculture and about fifty State agricul- 
tural experiment stations. The State stations were not 
org^anized till later, but they are a part of the same 
movement, and part of their support is annually appro- 
priated by Congress. These institutions employ thou- 
sands of men engaged in research in all phases of agricul- 
ture. Many of the states have appropriated money for 
branch stations, and the United States Department of 
Agriculture also has established outposts for research 



8 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

under its control. In this way the State and the Nation 
are able to study farm management and many special 
questions relating to farming, on each large area of 
definite kind of soil and in each climatic and agricul- 
tural area. All the leading countries of the world are 
conducting agricultural researches, though no other has 
so extensive an organization as the United States. In 
the nineteenth century, there was spent in this way. in 
the world, probably $25,000,000, and appropriations for 
this purpose are being so rapidly increased that there 
will have been spent more than twice that amount in the 
first decade of the twentieth century. By the time farm 
youths born in 1900 are in middle life, there will have 
accumulated a body of agricultural knowledge resulting 
from an investment of probably $500,000,000. These 
expenditures are resulting in a large accumulation 
of scientific and practical facts useful to farmers 
and farm home makers. l*>om this great mass of 
knowledge, teachers are gradually sorting out portions 
which are peculiarly adapted to use in making text- 
books for schools for farm youth. It would seem good 
statesmanship to assume that this knowledge will suc- 
cessfully knock at the doors even of our rural schools and 
there find a place beside the three R's, so that each farm 
boy and girl may have the key to this vast store of 
knowledge, and that our schools will be developed to 
bring this information successful!}' to all youths \\lio arc 
to become farmers. 

While Congress provided only for colleges of agricul- 
ture, the movement which was crystallized into the 
Federal law of 1862 has resulted also in developing agri- 
cultural education in schools below collegiate grade. 
Thus a number of agricultural high schools of secondary 
school grade have been successfully organized ; agricul- 
ture has also found its way with some degree of success 
into the seconrlarv courses of public schools in cities, 



INTRODUCTION 9 

towns, villages and consolidated rural schools, and even 
in the elementary courses of the district rural schools. The 
three distinctive kinds of schools in which agricultural 
education will be most intensively and successfully 
taught are State agricultural colleges ; large agricul- 
tural high schools, probably one for each ten counties ; 
and consolidated rural and village schools to which the 
pupils are taken in school wagons. The State normal 
schools also are preparing to do especially good service 
in fitting teachers to instruct in agriculture, and many of 
the colleges of agriculture are establishing educational 
departments in which to make a specialty of helping 
prepare the large number of teachers needed. Many 
city and town public schools, also non-public schools of 
all grades, including universities, will also provide more 
or less instruction relating to the farm and farm home, 
and the aggregate of their work will be considerable. 

But the bulk of the work will be done in an articulated 
system made up of the four classes of schools which are 
attended mainly by pupils from the farm, most of whom 
are to manage farms and farm homes. These are, first, 
district rural schools, usually with one room, to which 
the pupils walk ; and while these schools are destined to 
give way in well-settled farm communities to the larger 
school next named, probably a hundred thousand will 
remain in sparsely settled and isolated communities. 
Schools of the second class are formed by consolidating 
six or eight one-room schools in the open country, and 
the pupils are transported to and from the schools, for 
the most part, in school wagons. These consolidated 
rural schools (of which we should have 20,000 or 30,000, 
located on small school farms among farms, and giving 
instruction to pupils from farm homes) to distinguish 
them from district rural schools, may properly be called 
farm schools, as Grant Farm School, Owl Creek Farm 
School. Schools of the third class are on larare school 



lo FAR.M de\']-:loi'.mi:nt 

farms, provide dormitories, or allow the pupils to 
board in the adjoining town, are of secondary grade, 
and are called agricultural high schools. They receive 
students from consolidated rural schools and from the 
district rural schools, also from village and town schools, 
most of whom return to the farm, hut they also prepare 
students to enter the agricultural college. The State 
agricultural colleges constitute the fourth class. In a 
few States they are separate institutions; in others they 
are joined with colleges of mechanic arts and colleges of 
science ; and in yet otiier cases the agricultural college 
is one of a group of colleges making up the State uni- 
versity. 

In the district rural school some subjects relating to 
agriculture and home making may be successfully taught 
by well-prepared teachers. Some rather inexpensive 
equipment can be afiforded. and the practical facilities of 
the farm and the farm home may be used extensively. 
Here the preparation of the teacher is the paramount 
consideration. 

The consolidated rural school, or farm school, receives 
pupils from a district four to six miles across. It has a 
ten-acre farm, a four or five-room school building, a 
cottage for the principal and small farm buildings. On 
the half of the school farm which is used for a combined 
campus and farmstead, there are groves, orchards, gar- 
dens, ornamental trees, shrul)s and flowers and ample 
playgrounds. On the other half, are field crops on min- 
iature fields and plats. The pupils, under the instruction 
of the teacher who is trained to teach agriculture, use all 
these plantings as a working laboratory. The older 
pupils attend school only six months and the alternating 
six months they help raise crops on the home farm. 
The principal can help the parents supervise their work 
and make the summer a truly educational period of 
apprenticeship in the actual business of farming. In like 



INTRODUCTION It 

manner the assistant principal, who is trained to teach 
home economics, can visit the older girls in their homes 
dnring- the vacation and tints snpplement the instrnction 
given in cooking, sewing and other household subjects 
taught during the winter in school. Thus the one to two 
hundred farms and farm homes in the consolidated rural 
school district are great laboratory adjuncts to the farm 
school. 

The large agricultural high school has a group of 
trained technical teachers in agriculture and home 
economics, each with such equipment as is necessary to 
demonstrate and give practice in the various special 
lines taught. 

The agricultural college is still more highly equipped 
with technical teachers, laboratories, libraries and facil- 
ities to give training preparatory to teaching research or 
other public or private service in agriculture or home 
economics, as well as for the practical affairs of the farm 
and the farm home. 

The college receives students from agricultural high 
schools or from other secondary schools giving an equiv- 
alent of preparation. The agricultural high school re- 
cei\-es pupils from the district rural school ; and from 
the consolidated rural, village or town school where a 
partial agricultural high school course is given, students 
are received with such advanced standing as their ad- 
vancement warrants. The consolidated rural school 
provides the elementary eight-year course, and often 
one. two or more years of the high school course. A 
system under which many farm pupils can secure the 
elementary course and two years of high school work 
in the consolidated rural school, or in the ^'illage or town 
school, and a two-year finishing course in a large agri- 
cultural high school, would suit the needs of hundreds 
of thousands who are to be farmers and farm home- 
makers. The expense in time and money would not be 



12 J-AKAI 1)E\ ELOl'Ml^XT 

loo i,'rc'at and the education and inspiration for good 
farming, superior home-making and enlightened citizen- 
ship thus sustained in the open country will be beyond 
our fondest dreams. Boys from villages, cities and 
sparsel}' settled districts who wish to learn farming, can 
often secure places on good farms where they can work 
in summer and attend the consolidated rural school or 
the agricultural high school in winter. 

This general scheme of four classes of schools, closely 
interwoven as a part of our entire school system, 
promises to provide both general and vocational school 
facilities for nearly all who are to live on farms. At the 
same time, vocational as well as general training is being 
developed for those who work in the non-agricultural in- 
dustries. Thus vocational education in the productive 
industries and in liome making promises to follow tech- 
nical education for the professions. When all the schools 
needed to provide vocational training for the vast num- 
bers of those who are to work on the farm, in the shop 
and in the home are thus developed, the specialization 
of those designed to teach these specific subjects will be 
produced by normal schools and normal departments in 
secondar}' and collegiate schools, as now teachers are 
prepared to teach the general school subjects. The 
preparation of teachers will be the great problem only 
during the period of rapidly developing vocational edu- 
cation, and during that period wages for those who can 
successfully introduce these subjects will be relatively 
hisfh and the service most useful and attractive. 



CHAPTER II 
FARMING AS A VOCATION 

Farming a good business. — Since all lines of human 
endeavor are open to free competition, people flock into 
any vocation which temporarily seems especially profit- 
able, and they as quickly leave a vocation which becomes 
unprofitable, all industries thus being kept at nearl}^ the 
average in opportunity. The law of supply and demand, 
in the main, controls.^ Farming is, on the whole, a con- 
servative line of business, though often subject to severe 
variations in the profit it affords. In farming, few men 
become millionaires, and few paupers. It is not a line of 
the greatest financial opportunities nor of the greatest 
misfortunes. Its money rewards average less than those 
of the average city vocations, but including with things 
money will buy, those things money will not purchase, 
or for which cash is not needed, farming furnishes as 
much, or more, on the average, of remuneration as does 
effort applied in the average of other vocations. In con- 
ducting the family-sized farm, the minor portion of the 
remuneration comes in the form of money, while good 
food, clothing, a beautiful home, wholesome outdoor em- 
ployment, independence, and other useful and enjoyable 
features of rural life constitute the larger portion. 

State benefited by a strong race of farmers, — The 
changed conditions of modern times require a smaller 
proportion of the whole people on the farms than for- 
merly; only about one-third of all engaged in gainful 
operations in the United States are now tillers of the 
soil, and the indications are that this will be further 
reduced to one-fourth of the whole, when the ratio must 
become nearly static. Labor-saving machinery makes 



14 FARM Di:VELOPMENT 

it possible for fewer people to produce the food and raw 
material of clothing required for all classes of people 
than formerly ; while, on the other hand, the cities re- 
quire more workers in manufacturing industries, in com- 
merce, in transportation, in the professions and in special 
and personal service. Standards of living have changed 
and the average person demands much more of the non- 
agricultural commodities than formerly, while the amount 
of foods and fibers required by each person remains 
nearly stationary. The satisfaction of these increased 
demands gives profitable employment to more people in 
the cities. On the other hand, the average farmer can pro- 
duce more than formerly, because of better methods and 
machinery, which make his labor more efficient. There 
is a constant migration of the farmers to the cities, 
especially to the large cities of America and other 
civilized countries, and nearly all cities the world over 
are growing rapidly. This movement from land to town 
is influenced mainly by economic conditions, but our 
educational system has led people to overestimate the 
professions and to undervalue the opportunities of such 
\'ocations as farming, mechanics, and home making, 
where more physical labor is required. 

On the other hand, the growth of farm population does 
not keep pace with the city population, and in some 
localities, as in Xew England and Scotland, the actual 
number of farmers is much smaller than formerly. ^^' itli 
the advent of periods of better times, there is a strong 
movement of farmers to the cities. This movement is 
temporarily checked by panics, or periods when business 
is depressed. l)ut. as the decades pass, the population of 
the cities grows faster than that of the country, because 
relatively larger numbers find employment in the cities. 
This movement will continue as long as the needs for 
workers in the town industries and professions grow 
more rapidly tlian do the needs for workers in the rural 



FARMING AS A X'OCATION 15 

industries. Some |)cn])lc prcl'tT llie associations of the 
towns and cities, others prefer the quiet, independent 
and heahhful life on the farm. There are larger oppor- 
tunities in the cities for a few persons who happen to be 
especially gifted in business or as si:)ecialists in given 
lines of work, but the opportunities of the country aver- 
age as well, or better, than the opportunities of the city 
and the chances of utter failure are far greater in the 
city than in the countr}^ 

The home is the most influential institution in our 
national life, and the farm home is the best place to 
produce strong and useful citizens. The farm home is 
racially our most important home. Farmers are rather 
conservative and are peculiarly loyal to the good of the 
community. Their voice usually rings true for sound 
and good government, though they are sometimes slow 
to embrace improvements in governmental affairs. The 
Nation needs to retain men and women on our rich lands 
who are so trained as citizens, as well as farmers, as to be 
capable of maintaining our country life at a high stand- 
ard. It is interested in the farmer's prosperity, because 
the general well-being of the rural community insures 
for the future a strong race of people, and prosperity 
among the producing classes, insures prosperity to all 
classes and to the Nation. yToo large a proportion of 
the whole people on farms is not desirable, as competi- 
tion in the production of farm commodities should not 
be so strong that the farm family cannot secure the 
profits necessary to supply not only good food and 
clothing, but to provide for education, books, opportu- 
nities for travel. etc\ The farmer's sons and daughters 
need to be well fed and well clothed, and not only taught 
industry and morality, but given excellent business and 
educational advantages in general, and taught how gradu- 
ally to enrich the soil. Improved farm machinery and 
home appliances, and better methods, have aided in 



i6 FAR^^ i)i:vF.r.op.\iF.x'r 

vastly improving the conditions of work and living on 
the farm, but further improvements are needed to keep 
country life apace with the rapidly improving life of the 
city. 

Studying agriculture is interesting and useful. — A 
course of study in efficient agricultural schools and col- 
leges gives much pleasure, because the studies include 
interesting things in nature, in business, in the home life, 
and in the affairs of man generally ; and after leaving 
school for practical life, the student finds a continuous 
source of very great pleasure in his acquaintance with 
the practical means and processes of nature, and in his 
knowledge of how^ better to work with man. Nature's 
classics are not in a man-made book, but are spread 
out in passive and active forms about the farm. Each 
animal, plant, and field is a word, a sentence, or a page. 
Each day is a chapter, and each year is a grand book full 
of substantial structures, sturdy industr_y. exacting duties, 
wonderful opportunities, noble im])ulses. interesting life, 
gracious friendships, warm-hearted loves, and the 
rhythmic music of the revolving forces and spirits of 
inanimate and animate nature. The man or woman 
who remains in country life, not following the tide to 
the city, receives a wonderful inspiration from special 
study in an agricultural school. 

Methods of work and trade relations are changing". 
Perfected means of transportation throw each farmer 
into competition with all the world, and the world 
has learned how to produce all things more 
cheaply. Intelligence, coupled with business capacity, 
is even more of an advantage in farming now than when 
prices were better and our competitors were not so 
earnestly studying all the questions relating to their 
business. The American farmer gets on because he is 
enterprising. If his neighbor invents a machine he 
makes use of it. If some enterprising firm manufactures 



FARMING AS A VOCATION IJ 

this machine for our competitors in the /\rgentine Re- 
public, India, or some other country where, with their 
cheaper land or cheaper labor, they can undersell us, we 
must find a still better machine or process and make 
profits by using it before these competitors have learned 
how. We must keep pace in intelligence with the fore- 
most nations of the world. 

Many of our lands are losing their virgin productivity, 
some of our fields are becoming infested with weeds, 
and we must all follow the example of our best farmers 
and set about building up our soils to a standard better 
than their original fertility. We must learn newer and 
better methods of field management and superior ways 
of handling crops. We must find new crops, new uses 
of old crops, and we must improve our staple crops. We 
must improve our live stock and our methods of rearing 
them. We must make the best possible use of dairy and 
other animal products, and we must learn to condense 
freights and market our produce to the best advantage ; 
and most important of all, we must learn to live well, and 
to make for ourselves and our families the best that our 
opportunities will afford. 

Farming is rising in the scale among vocations. — 
Farming is becoming established on a firmer basis ; 
many important facts are being discovered concerning 
plants, animals and soils, and a great many mechanical 
devices of value to the farmer are being constantly 
developed. Plans of farm management are being so 
perfected that farming is gradually being brought out 
of the realm of mere drudgery. Farm organization is 
being reduced to a scientific basis similar to engineering. 
As our eyes are being trained to see the interesting 
things of the farm, so our minds are being educated to 
appreciate the basal facts of animal and plant growth. 
And as our knowledge of the philosophy of farm man- 
agement and of plant and animal production becomes 



l8 ] AR.\[ ])i:\l£LOPMi:.\T 

more concrete and practical, we become awakened to 
the interesting and u]jlifting features of country life. 
As we learn how to organize and manage the farm home, 
how to develop the youthful members of the family into 
useful men and women, as we become masters in carry- 
ing out the everyday practical work of the farm and the 
farm home, we realize the advantages of life in the coun- 
try. The conditions of the country are so changing that 
competition is drawing closer about farm production, 
and exact work must be done to earn comfortable re- 
wards. On the other hand, the rural delivery of mails, 
rural telephones, better roads, bicycles, carriages, rural 
electric railways, books and papers of superior quality 
and at reduced prices, are coming within the reach of all. 
Labor-saving devices on the farm and in the house, im- 
proved breeds of plants and animals, cheaper clothing, 
lessened cost of transportation, and other advantages, 
which have come with modern times, also make farm 
life still more desirable and the farm home a better place 
for the development of character in the boys and girls 
who are fortunate in passing their earlier years with 
sturdy and truthful nature rather than amid the often 
adverse conditions obtaining in the crowded city. 
Farmers who are really equipped to take advantage of 
all modern facilities will reap a larger reward financially 
than at any former time. .^ 






CHAPTER III 
AGRICULTURAL SUBSTANCES CARRY FORCE 

At the beginning of a technical study of agriculture 
the student needs to see clearly that the substances of 
soil and air, the force constantly sent to the earth by 
the sun, the organizing forces of heredity in living 
plants and animals, the willing and the directing powers 
of man and the needs of the human race are the five 
great elemental things concerned in the making of farm 
products. The nations are rapidly awakening to the 
fact that scientific research, plant and animal breeding, 
school education, extension teaching and actual demon- 
stration are destined very greatly to increase the farm 
production per acre and per farm worker. They are 
beginning to invest vast sums of money in agricultural 
advancement as a great corporation invests in improve- 
ments in its business. The farmers are arousing them- 
selves to the full value of new knowledge, superior plant 
and animal forms, and to systematic training for the call- 
ings of farming and farm home making. 

Plant compounds are storage batteries. — Plant materials 
consist of compounds of the elements gathered from the 
soil and air and stowed away during their growth. It may 
be said that no real growth has been made by a plant 
until the green appears in the stem or leaf. Before this, 
the enlargement of the plantlet has been accomplished 
by using up the food materials stored in the seed. This 
leaf green, or chlorophAtil, as it is called, is made of 
small oblong bodies called chloroplasts, colored green 
with a coloring matter termed chloroph3dl. These 
chlorophyll bodies do not appear in plants that are kept 
in the dark. Seeds and roots that begin growth in the 

19 



20 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

tlark will grow only while the food material lasts which 
is stored in the parent seeds or roots. 

The work done by these chlorophyll bodies in the 
leaves, aided by the sunlight, is very important. The 
leaves of plants are very complex workshops, or labora- 
tories, and here the substances taken from the soil and 
air by the plant are brought together, and by the action 
of the sunlight on these in connection with the chloro- 
phyll bodies, the plant chemical compounds are manu- 
factured. This process is not fully understood, but we 
may liken these compounds of which the plant is com- 
posed to " storage batteries." They contain a definite 
amount of force which can be liberated and used. AVhen 
plants are burned, the heat produced comes from these 
" storage batteries," or compounds. Upon burning, the 
substances coming from the air return to the air in the 
form of a gas called carbonic acid gas (COo) ; another 
small portion of the plant called mineral, which the ])lant 
secured from the soil, is left as ashes. AVater in the 
plant is also changed, upon burning, to the gas we call 
watery vapor. 

The force or energy we see operating in the world has 
its origin in the sun. Plants are able to absorb from the 
sun's rays some of this force and store it in latent form 
in the compounds of which they are made up. Animals 
eat plants, and their digestive organs in breaking up 
some of the storage batteries, are capable of setting free 
some of this force, and we see the result in the work 
they do, and in the warmth of their bodies. They trans- 
form some of the plant compound into animal compound, 
and these, retaining the sun force stored up in the plant 
compounds, become animal storage batteries. Animals are 
not capable of making the compounds that they need from 
the elements in the air and soil, nor of storing up force 
from the sun. They must depend entirely on plants, or 
in case of carnivorous animals, on animals which have 



AGRICULTUKAL SUUSTANCES CARRY FORCE 21 

eaten plants. So we have the true saying. " All flesh 
is grass." 

But the reverse, all grass is flesh, is not true, 
for the animal is not able to use all the compounds of 
the plant. The part used by the animal depends on 
several things. In some plants the compounds are much 
more easily broken up than in others, and the animal 
secures a greater amount of available energy than from 
those plants where a considerable portion of energy is 
not digested or where the process of digestion consumes 
much of the energy. Certain animals have better diges- 
tive systems, and are capable of breaking up more of 
these compounds than others. When food is plentiful 
the animal may eat more than is necessary ; and if food 
is scarce, it may digest the plants more completely. In 
either case the animal uses the compounds as fuel in 
the body to keep up body heat, to produce energy for 
locomotion and other vital functions, or to furnish to its 
young as milk. The parts of the plants eaten that can- 
not be used, are excreted as waste. 

Latent energy in plants and animals. — Energy first 
stored up from the sun by the plant is said to be in a 
latent form. This may be illustrated by placing a par- 
tially melted piece of ice in a kettle on a stove, and 
beside it a kettle full of water, both being at the freez- 
ing temperature when placed over the fire. Heat is 
conducted into the water in both kettles, but the water 
in the kettle with the ice remains at the same tempera- 
ture until the ice is melted, while the water in the other 
kettle rises in temperature. Heat is constantly going 
into each mass of water. In one it is stored up in the 
latent form, that is. used in merely changing the form 
of the water from a solid to a liquid without causing a 
rise in temperature. In the other it is stored up in the 
active form, resulting in a rapid rise in temperature. If 
the two kettles are now^ placed in air at the freezing 



Iv\RM J)i:VKLOP]VlEN-T 




e 1 Engine with single steam chest. 



temperature, the active heat from the hot water will 
again be given ofif, the heat radiating into the cokler 
surrounding air, while none will be given off from the 

other kettle which has 
remained at the freezing 
temperature. 

The coal or wood used 
in tlie engine has heat, 
or energy, in a latent 
form, and by setting it 
on fire this heat, so to 
speak, is extracted from 
the fuel, while the com- 
pounds of which the fuel 
is made are destroyed or broken down into simpler chem- 
ical compounds. The part of the wood which the tree 
got from the soil as mineral plant food is left on the 
grate when we use the wood as fuel, and we call it ashes. 
That part of the fuel which the plant got from the air 
becomes gas again, and goes up the chimney as a part of 
the smoke. The heat gathered from the sun's ra3^s is 
liberated fro m the 
fuel and is radiated, or 
thrown off. It may be 
conducted into water 
in the l)oiler of the 
engine and cause the 
water to expand into 
steam. \\'hen the heat 
from the fuel in the fire- 

1 1 j-i 1 -1 2. lia.s a second steam chest! -which uses the ex- 

bOX under the bOllei lumst. or partially used steam, from the first 

has been transferred 

to the water in the 

boiler and has changed it into steam, we ha\e this 

force in a ^'ery active form expanding the steam. 

By conducting this active steam to the cylinder of 




Figure 2. The tandem compound engine. Figure 



liest. thus securing 10 or 15 per cent more energy 
Hit of the steam than the engine with a single 
Irani rhost. 



AGRICULTURAF, Sl'BSTANCES CARRY FORCE 23 

an engine and allowing it to expend its force on the 
piston, the force, or energy, which was liberated from 
the fuel by the fire, is transferred to the movement of 
the engine. In doing this the steam is partially con- 
densed, or changed again to water — the heat has been 
liberated. The movement or power produced by the 
steam in the engine may be conducted by means of a 
belt to a mill or other machinery, or to 
=r-.i^^^^^^^^^ an electric dynamo, where the force is 
Figures, commou ^vheat. changed again into another form of 

The average yield of 89 ° J^ 

samples of common Blue energy. i his clectncitv hcrc gen- 
Stem wheat grown in vari- '-'■^ ■',..- 

(ins parts of Minnesota hi eratcd uiav bc conductccl for mHCS 

1902 was 18.3 bushels per 

•"■"'■ over wires, turned into an electric 

motor and used as power for various purposes, or it may 
be made again to give up its energy in the form of heat. 
This heat may be used to produce steam in another 
boiler, or to warm houses, or it may be changed to the 
form of light in an electric lamp and used to illuminate 
our dwellings and streets. 

The plant, then, is a storage battery in which is stored 
up, from the sun, energy which may be appropriated for 
use by animals. Animals having incorporated into their 
bodies many of these plant storage batteries, usually 
somewhat changed in composition, they also become 
reser\'oirs of energy. If man eats the tiesh of an animal 
and utilizes its force in the form of labor, he is simply 
drawing upon the supply of 
energy that the plants stored 
up from the vast resources of . . , 

, Figure 4. A new wheat ongnrited 

the sun Iv selection. The average yield of 80 

samples of Minnesota Xo. 109, a newly- 

S„ ^ „ ; „ 1 ; „ „ J ^^^■^4-^ '^■nA lncd wheat, oiiginatefl from the jiarenl 

P e C 1 a 1 1 Z e d plants and ,,|,„. stem sInTwu in Figure 1, grown 

1 I . .1 1 ■., in various ports of Minnesota in 1902 

animals. lust as the maclim- „„f,er similar conditions as tire com- 

^ . " . ^, 1 -1 juon wheat, shown in Figiue 3. was 

ISt tries to im])rOVe tlie h«UlCl 21..-> bushels per acre, an increase of 

, . , I 11 1 J ''■'■^ bushels, or 18 per cent. 

and engine that shall lu-st 

receive and transmit from the fuel the force it liberates 

upon burning, so the farmer seeks the best plants with 



24 



FARM nKVKLOr M F.NT 




Figure 5. The net returns from Klliel. 
when used in tlie dairy, a cuvv bred mainly 
for beef, for one year, figuring butter, skim 
millt and feed at market prices, in 1895. 
\vas $9.92. Haecker. 



which to gather and store up the force of the sun's rays 
and transmit them to his uses whenever wanted. As the 
electrician seeks the most economical form of dynamo to 
receive the force transmitted from the steam engine, so 
the farmer seeks the best horse, milch cow, or other 

animal that shall in the 
most economical manner 
receive the force from the 
plants and transmit it to 
whatever use may be de- 
sired. Some chemical com- 
pounds, within the plant or 
animal, form storage bat- 
teries of much greater 
powers than others. Thus, 
fats have nearly two 
and one-half times as much latent heat, or power, stored 
up in a given weight as have starches and sugars, or the 
substance of cell walls of plants, called cellulose. Vari- 
ous compounds called proteins are also rated high in 
value, because in addition to supplying energy they 
nourish the muscles, nerves, bones, etc. Plants which 
are bred so as to have a large percentage of protein and 
fat compounds have a spe- 
cial value, because they con- 
tain much more available 
latent energy than do those 
not so bred. In like man- 
ner, animals that are so well 
bred that their carcasses of 
beef, mutton or pork have a 
larger percentage of the 
high-priced lean meat are 
especially valuable because 
of the larger amounts of these more useful forms of 
" storage batteries." The dairv cow which transforms 




Figure 6. The net returns from Houston, 
a specially bred dairy cow. for one year, 
figuring butter, .skim milk and feed at 
market prices in ISO.''). v"= -*^'S ss 
ITaockcr, 



.')8..'3: 



AGRICULTLKAI. SL' KSTAX CF.S CARRY FORCE 25 

most of her food into the valuable butter fats, storing 
up a minimum amount in the form of protein in her 
milk, or as a padding of fatty tissue on her body, is the 
best machine for transferring a large portion of energy 
from the pasture or grain bin into the valuable product, 
butter. 

The illustrations shown in Figs, i to 6, inclusive, may 
serve to show differences in engines, plants and animals 
as to their effectiveness in changing latent energy into 
active forms useful to man. They emphasize the great 
importance of properly understanding the relation exist- 
ing between latent and active energy as related to agri- 
culture. 

The sciences related to agriculture. — The theories and 
facts of science have been grouped around the great 
divisions of nature. Thus, there is the science of plants, 
the science of animals, and the science of minerals. The 
division of knowledge into groups continues with the 
accumulation of facts, until there are many sciences. 
Some of these deal mainly with the facts without direct 
reference to the utility of the facts, while most sciences 
ultimately affect some economic interest. Agriculture 
has been wonderfully aided by the sciences, many of 
which have a very close relation to agricultural produc- 
tion and to the life of the farm home. 

In a general way the sciences may be divided into two 
classes : The physical sciences, which deal with the 
facts and laws of matter in which life may or may not 
take part ; and the biological sciences, which deal only 
with living forms, both plants and animals. Among the 
physical sciences the following are especially useful to 
agriculture : Mathematics, physics, mechanics, electric- 
ity, chemistry, geology and meteorology. Since the 
biological sciences treat of the life of the animal and the 
plant kingdoms, thev are equally useful and important, 
for they throw light upon many things which have a 



26 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

liractical bearing upon plant and aninsal pn idiiclion, such 
as heredity, variation, selection, and the development of 
species, varieties or breeds. Some of the more general 
biological sciences are botau}-, bacteriology, zoology, 
entomology and breeding. 

Mafliciiiatics is the most exact of all the sciences. It 
deals with the measurement and relations of quan- 
tities, and by symbols and processes treats of numbers, as 
in arithmetic and algebra, and of space, as in geometr}-. 
^Fathematics is applied to all the physical and biological 
sciences, and is used in all industries and professions. 
Like all the more practical subjects, the study of mathe- 
matics not t)nly develops mental \-igor, but also gives 
valuable facts. 

Physics, in its specific sense, deals with the phenomena 
of matter, and with the energy which accompanies mat- 
ter, excluding the phenomena peculiar to living matter, 
biology, and the phenomena peculiar to elemental forms 
of matter, chemistry. Physics treats of the constitution 
and properties of matter, of mechanics, acoustics, heat, 
light, electricity and magnetism. A study of the gen- 
eral principles of physics, illustrated at every possible 
point by its use in explaining mechanical contrivances, 
soils, feeding and other questions in agricultural prac- 
tice, is proving most useful as a means of general mind- 
training and of acquiring useful facts. 

Mechanics treats of the phenomena caused by the action 
of energy, or force, on material bodies. Tt considers the 
phenomena of static bodies of matter with their latent 
energy, and kinetic bodies with their dynamic forces 
operating. Applied mechanics deals with the invention, 
construction, care and use of all kinds of structures, 
machines and devices. The people of the world are 
housed, clothed, fed, transported and supplied with in- 
formation and luxuries in far greater amount and with 
far less cost of time and efTort because of the development 



ACRKI'LTIKAI. SI T-S'IAX Cl-LS CARin' FoKt'K 2/ 

of mcclianics. Theoretical mathematicians and physicists 
b}' tlieir researches, and in\entors, have given the basic 
ideas for the development of practical mechanics. The 
scientist and the practical man have alike contributed to 
our sum of mechanical knowledg'e and to our collection 
of mechanical appliances. 

Elect) icify deals with one form of the invisible force of 
inorganic and organic substances which manifests itself 
in many ways, and which is rendered active by some 
molecular disturbance, as from friction, rupture, or chem- 
ical action. The laws of the generation, storage, trans- 
portation and use of this power and the mechanical ap- 
pliances driven b}- it furnish subject matter for school 
studies and laboratory practice alike practical and useful 
for mental training. 

Cliciiiistry is that l)ranch of the physical sciences which 
treats of the minutiae of substances, as of their atoms. 
their molecules, the relations these units sustain to each 
other within substances with simple and compound 
molecules and the manner in which molecules of dif- 
ferent kinds are constructed. Theoretical chemistry 
deals with the laws go\'erning chemical action, while 
applied chemistry treats of the relations of these laws to 
agriculture, medicine, mining, sanitation, etc. Physics 
and chemistry overlap or dovetail, as do all related 
sciences, and classification cannot make straight lines 
where nature has not made them. Classification, as in 
books, is only to aid us in better organizing our 
thoughts. 

Geology treats of the constitution and structure of the 
earth, the operation of its physical forces, the history of 
its development, including the causes and modes of 
changes it has passed through, and the occurrence and 
development of organisms. It embraces phA^sical geog- 
raphy in part, but is not concerned with political 
geography. It includes a study of the successive layers 



28 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

of the earth's surface, and the meaning of the fossil 
evidences of living things in each layer is considered. 
It gives the relation of the slowly developed organic life 
through the geological ages to the plant and animal 
forms now on the surface of the earth. It has very prac- 
tical relations to studies of soils, farm management, and 
to plant and animal production, as well as to mining and 
many lines of engineering. The study of this subject is 
peculiarly broadening, in that it gives the mind a view of 
the development of life under a process of gradual 
natural evolution. 

Meteorology treats of the phenomena of the atmos- 
phere, especially those that relate to climate. This 
\ery difificult subject is slowly being brought into a form 
adapted to a school study, and as a practical science it 
is being developed so as to make weather prediction 
very useful. 

Botany has grown to be a wonderful science. The 
many, many thousand species of plants are being 
classified and named, and the functions of the 
parts of plants are being worked out. Xew facts as to 
the best places and plans for growing and cultivating 
each useful plant, are being brought to light. Plant 
breeders are studying the laws of heredity, and so im- 
j'jroving the crops of the field, garden and forest that 
yields are increased, and the quality of the products 
improved. New beauties are added to flowers and foli- 
age ; new flavors to fruits and vegetables ; and new 
fpialities to fibers and woods. New ways of propagat- 
ing, cultivating and feeding plants are discovered, and 
the methods of harvesting, preserving and utilizing plant 
products in the home and in the factory are becoming so 
numerous as to be fairly bewildering. 

The study of the life histories of fungi, such as 
molds, rusts and other minute plants, is doing a great 
deal to aid farmers in combatinc funcous diseases of 



AGRICULTURAL SL'l'.STANCLS CARRY FORCL 29 

plants and animals, and in making use of some of these 
minute plants for economic purposes. These plants 
have no flowers or seeds such as larger plants have, and 
usually a microscope must be used to work out their 
life histories. 

The farmer who does not seek to learn the interesting 
things about plants is constantly losing a large part of 
the enjoyment which nature has made so abundantly 
a\ailable to him. tracts about plants which are avail- 
able in books on botany, horticulture and agriculture, 
and taught in agricultural schools, are of great value to 
those who till the soil. 

Bacteriology has brought to light a world of important 
facts regarding the many germs which breed disease 
in plant and animal bodies, which cause decay in dead 
organic substances, which aid in elaborating plant food 
from soil and air, which assist in transforming the food 
in the digestive canal of the animal, and in many other 
ways take part in plant and animal production. Bac- 
teria and other very small organisms are so simple in 
their structure that it is difficult to class them with 
animals or plants; they are so simple that they have 
not the special organs or functions of either. 

Zoology. — The science of animal life is full of inter- 
esting things. There is no study more profoundly inter- 
esting than that of the development of species in animals 
and in plants. Every species of animal has a different 
life history, and many of its habits, when known, are 
very interesting. The anatomy, or structure, and the 
physiology, or functional activities, of each species of 
wild, and especially of domesticated, animals is of inter- 
est. The experiment station officers and others are 
working out methods of feeding, breeding and managing 
live stock that are of great value to the farmer. 

Entomology. — This division of zoology deals with in- 
sects and is full of interesting facts. Descriptive 



30 FAR.\[ 1)E\-]-:L0PMKXT 

cntdinolo.i^y lells of the life liislorics of the various 
insects, and the stories ol the work of these won- 
derful little creatures are full of interest in:^" surprises. 
The patient entomologists ha\e worked out methods 
of combating" man}' injurious insects and have learned 
that many of them are by nature our friends and should 
be protected. A knowled,o'e of how to combat those 
that obtain their food by sucking the juice out of 
plants and those that chew their food is both interesting 
and useful to the farmer. 

TJic ai^riciiltura! scicitccs. — A\'hile the ]:)ractice of agri- 
culture is mainly art. agricultural science is becoming; 
the most wonderful of sciences, in part because nearly 
all the other sciences contribute to agricultural science, 
(^nly recently have the facts of agricultural theory and 
practice been brought together in a systematically ar- 
rang'ed form. A literature of scientific, practical ag'ricul- 
ture is being written, most varied in kind, most wonder- 
ful in extent, most interesting" in character, and most 
useful in its economic relations. Xo other science in- 
terests so man}- peo]:)le. nor are the li\es and work of 
any other industrial class brought so close to the laws, 
the forces, the niaterials. and the enjo}'able objects of 
nature. 

The ])rincipal subjects mider which a knowledge of 
farming is obtained are: Agriculture, or agronomy, the 
study of field agriculture ; horticulture, the study of 
garden and orchard crops ; animal industry, the study 
of animal ]:)roduction ; dairy industr}^ the study of dairy 
stock, dairy production and dairy manufacturing; vet- 
erinary science, the study of the diseases and hygiene of 
animals ; breeding, the study of how to originate animals 
and plants with heredity which will produce higher 
economic and artistic values; agricultural chemistry, 
the study of the chemistry of soils, plants and animals; 
and rural engineering, the study of machines, buildings, 
roads, drainage, etc., relating to the farm. 



AGRICTLTURAL SUDSTAXCES CARRY FORCE 3T 

Agricultural technology. — This group includes a study 
of manufacturing" as related U) agriculture, such as 
sugar making", slaughtering" animals, manufacturing 
commercial fertilizers, textile manufactures, etc. 



CHAPTER IV 
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH 

Plants and animals have developed from lower forms. 

— The generally accepted theory is that at one time the 
earth's surface was of solid rock, but the action of wind, 
water, glaciers, earthquakes, heat, cold and other forces, 
during many ages, has broken up this surface into 
smaller particles which form the larger part of our soil 
as we see it today. 

Some of the lower forms of plant life which live 
largely from the elements of the air, at first grew upon 
the rocky surfaces and on the pulverized surface ma- 
terials, and gradually deposited small amounts of organic 
matter which, together with the disintegrated soil par- 
ticles, formed rich soils on which higher plants and 
animals could grow. As the ages passed a large growth 
of plants developed on the surface, and the organized 
matter of decaying plants, mixed with fine particles of 
earth, helped make a productive soil. 

In many places the rains washed these plant and 
animal remains into streams, and, together with par- 
ticles of soil, they were deposited along the river beds 
or deltas in layers. Where earthquakes, the washing 
of water or other influences have operated to expose the 
edges of these layers, the geologist has studied and 
unraveled the history of the layers of earth. Sur- 
face layers which have been formed in compar- 
atively recent times are found to contain the 
fossil forms of the plants and animals now living on the 
earth. As he goes deeper among the older deposits, the 
geologist finds many lower forms of animals and plants, 
of some of which no living representatives ha\e ever 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH 33 

been found. In certain layers it is found that given 
kinds of animals or plants are more abundant than in 
others, and thus definite periods of ages are marked ofT 
in successive layers, as the Devonian age, when fish 
forms of life were most abundant. The Carboniferous 
age is marked by the enormous growth of lower forms 
of plants which have given us the large coal fields. But 
the most important of all the teachings of this wonder- 
ful history is, that our present forms of plants and 
animals have ascended from lower, simpler and inferior 
forms, and that we may expect to find this process still 
continuing. 

All the things about us that have in no way been 
modified by man we call natural, and the wonderful 
things taught by them we call natural history. This 
natural history is a wonderful book and we see about 
us in living things and in rocks, hills and rivers 
its most recently written pages. One of the most in- 
teresting facts is the evidences in the layers of rock, 
slate, clay, etc., of the great age of our world, or the long 
time covered by natural history. There are several 
theories as to how our planet came to have the shape 
and size that it has, but there is much evidence that in 
the beginning the earth was ver}' hot. According to 
this theory, part of the water now in the seas, rivers and 
earth was in the atmosphere as gas. As the cycles of 
centuries rolled on, the earth gradually became cooler. 
A part of the water fell on the surface. As the surface 
of the earth lost its heat, it would crack and part of the 
water would rush in, the heat being so intense as to 
form such volumes of steam that terrific explosions took 
place. As the surface cooled sufficiently, it was found 
that the very first forms of animal and vegetable life 
appeared, but the earth was not in a settled form even 
when these appeared, for the geologist finds in the 
layers of rocks of elevated regions the remains of plants 



34 FARM l)]-:VELOPMENT 

and animals that have lived at the bottom of the sea. 
This shows that forces are at work which are con- 
tinually modifying the physiography of the earth, level- 
ing some parts and elevating other parts above their 
original position. The rains falling on the high places 
of the earth's surface washed the looser particles to the 
low places and with them the forms of life that then 
existed, thus leaving a record of the times in the fossils 
preserved in the layers thus formed. In some cases a 
deposit of earlier records has been raised and washed 
down a second time, and here the record is confused, for 
a layer of rock or clay may thus contain forms that 
existed centuries apart in point of time. 

We think of the earth as being very stable, but crustal 
disturbances, as earthquakes and volcanoes, occur fre- 
(juently at many parts of the globe. The formation of 
mountain ranges is wonderful and can be appreciated 
(mly by those who have been on the mountains and have 
been awed by their stupendous proportions. These 
mountain ranges may be accounted for, in part, by the 
fact that the earth is cooling from the outside toward 
its center, and, as it loses heat, it becomes smaller and 
the surface, being hard, bulges u\) in places and settles 
down in others, as does the rind of an apple when it is 
drying. 

Development of present land surfaces, — The layers of 
the earth which are now exposed have been modified 
not only by the action of heat and cold, wind and water, 
but also by animals and plants. During recent 
geological times great changes in temperature have 
caused immense collections of ice, called glaciers, to lie 
u]jon and flow or glide very slowly ovev large areas of 
land near the north and south poles of the globe. These 
glaciers, which once pushed much farther out from the 
]>oles toward the equator than now, have done much to 
transport the particles of soil from place to place, mix- 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF TIIL EARTH 35 

Ing the stony substances together, or depositing them in 
layers, as the case might be. Water and winds have also 
done much in this mixing of soils. In moist, low places 
vegetation has grown and been preserved by water cov- 
ering it. and thus collected into beds of peat. Peat beds 
thus made in former times, and afterward covered with 
clay, in some cases have been gradually transformed 
into coal. 

In other places, where the surface of the earth is com- 
posed of solid rock, of hard stones, or even of gravel or 
sand, which does not easily decay, vegetation has not 
been able to grow and the surface is still bare and not 
hospitable to plants. Between these two extremes, 
where soils have been made of clay or of a mixture of 
clay and sand and other materials, plants have found a 
congenial home. The soils have an abundance of plant 
food ; they are rich in humus or decaying vegetable mat- 
ter, and, therefore, able to hold moisture, and to provide 
l)acterial and other agencies which aid in producing 
conditions suitable for the feeding by the plant roots. 
In some places these congenial soils are formed by the 
rock decaying where it lies ; in other places they are 
formed by the water washing particles from many 
places, thus mixing them together and spreading them 
out in layers ready to form the home of plants. In 
other places the winds bring together soil particles in a 
mixture which is adaj:)ted to the growth of plants. 

Igneous rocks ( rocks that are formed from the molten 
lava from the interior of the earth, or that at least have 
been heated) are found at many ]ilaces on the surface of 
the earth, as where they were poured through volcanoes 
or oozed out through openings on the earth's crust. 
Sand and gravel are found in other places where they 
have been deposited by the action of water. All these 
form inhospitable soils. The granitic and other igneous 
rocks are not open to the penetration of plant roots, and 



.^'» FARM DEVliLOPMENT 

sand and gravel are not suitable soils from which 
plants can secure food. 

The glacial period. — Beginning tens uf thousands of 
years ago. and continuing, perha])S. ten thousand years, 
a most imj^ortant occurrence of \ast |)ro])ortions hap- 
pened to the north temperate zone of the earth. At 
least this occurrence was important for the welfare of 
man in his present state, because it served as a stu- 
])endous motor to provide immense areas of finely pul- 
verized mixed soils suited to growing valuable crops. 
( )wing to some astronomical or geological phenomenon 
not well understood, the sun failed to heat this zone as 
had been its custom before, or as it ilocs at ])resent, and 
the climate became as cold in ?^laine or Minnesota as 
it is at the present time near the north ])ole. b'rom 
Missouri n()rth\vard in America, and in a similar zone 
in liurasia, was a region of per])etual snow. The rain 
and snowfall of each season was added to the layer 
which fell the year before, and thus there gradually 
accumulated a sheet of snow and ice hundreds of feet 
thick, extending southward far into the Mississippi 
\alley basin in .Vmerica ami another sheet extending 
into the central part of Eurasia. This sheet of accu- 
mulated snow and ice was called the great glacier. In 
the l)eginning the zone of j)er])etual snow of the arctic 
circle gradually extended southward as the cold con- 
tinued to increase from age to age. The cold crept 
southward and extended the southern edge of the region 
of per|)etual snow, "idie annual fall of ice and snow 
continuefl io accumulate and finally extended southward 
in the United States, as shown by the map in Tigure 7, 
reaching to the Missouri and the Ohio rivers. Tt is not 
thought that this moxement took place rapidly or even 
regularly, as din'ing some ages the cold would increase 
more rapidly than at other times, then again, the cold 
would not increase but would e\'en decrease. 



GEOLOGICAL IILSTOKV OF Till-: EARTH 37 

I'lic snow and rain accumulations had become pressed 
Ml to a solid sheet of ice, hundreds and even thousands of 
I'cet in thickness. We would expect that this ice would 
lie quietl_y on the surface of the earth, but it is found 
that ice will flow to a lower level, as will water, thoug'h 
very slowly. This fact is illustrated by pressing- a 
chunk of ice in a very strong box which it does not 
(|uite fit. By placing an immense pressure on the 
chunk, it will gradually bend or mold itself to fit into 
all the corners of the box without apparently breaking", 
thus illustrating that under heavy pressure ice will flow- 
like a liquid, moving, of course, only very slowly. That 
great sheets of ice do actually move, or flow, is shown 
by the great ice sheets now known to be moving down 
the valleys in Greenland and the Alps, and in other 
regions of perpetual snow. In Greenland the ice is 
shoved out over the water, and there the weight, assisted 
somewhat by the waves of the ocean, causes great pieces 
of the ice sheet to break ofif, which float out into the 
ocean as icebergs. It is even found that ice flows faster 
in the center of its path down the valleys than it does 
near the edges, just as water flows more rapidly in the 
center of the river than where it is retarded by coming 
i;i contact with the shore or bottom. 

The states north of the Missouri and the Ohio rivers 
were practically all covered by the great glacier. The 
Mississippi valley was then much as it is now\ the ele- 
\ated plains toward the Rocky Mountains preventing the 
ice sheet from flowing in that direction. The higher land 
at the foot of the Alleghanies also prevented the ice sheet 
from flowing over against those mountains. There were, 
also, other occasional higher portions of the earth, as 
around the west end of Lake Superior, and in the vicin- 
ity of Dubuque, Iowa, where the glacier did not flow 
over the land. There was stored up in this immense 
sheet ot ice a large amount of water, which, during the 



38 FAR.M DEVELOPMENT 

period of melting' and recession of the yet moving south 
edge of the glacier, was added to the annual rainfall and 
greatly enlarged the streams flowing into the Mississippi 
river, and the drainage of this whole region was very 
different from what we see at present. Now only a part 
of the annual rainfall must find its way to the Gulf of 
Mexico. This excess of water during the recession of the 
glacier is illustrated by a spring rain melting the snow, 
combining the rain and the snow water into a flood. 
The front edge of the glacier, instead of being a straight 
line, was very irregular. Great streams, or fingers, of 
ice flowed south through the valleys and lower areas, in 
advance of the general body of the glacier. The reces- 
sion was sufficiently rapid, in spite of the slow forward 
movement of the frozen water, so that the ice which 
flowed to a given point, and there melted, added an 
immense amount of water to the usual rainfall. All 
this water swelled the streams in the midsummer so 
that, instead of the small streams winding through the 
flats in our valleys, there were rushing torrents rising 
nearly to the tops of the present bluffs, which were then 
banks of the large streams. 

Many neighborhoods in the states mentioned have 
very interesting illustrations of how the glacier and the 
large volume of water from the melting glacier operated 
in modifying the land surface. Every citizen of such 
regions should study the glacial geology so as to be able, 
b}^ observation, to understand the phenomena presented 
by the surface features in his own neighborhood. 

Glacial drift or till. — Prior to the time of the glacier 
there was loose soil, rock, sand, clay, etc., covering the 
underlying rocks of the region over which the glacier 
flowed. The ice, in flowing over this surface, gathered 
up much of the loose clay, sand and stones, and also tore 
loose and ground up more of the underlying rocks. This 
whole mass was made finer 1)\- the immense forces in 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH 39 

operation, and when the ice melted this material was 
deposited along the margin of the glacier. Where the 
recession of the ice sheet was gradual, the debris was 
laid out in rather level sheets over the surface of the 
earth and is now called by the geologists drift or till. 
In some places this material still lies as it was deposited, 
with fine and coarse particles mixed, but in many places 
the water flowing from the melting glacier washed the 
drift about, often making great valleys through which 
the streams could run. The material which was thus 
washed about by the water, was usually left assorted 
and in layers, just as the stream on the hillside carries 
forward gravel and small stones, particles of sand and 
clay, depositing the heaviest particles first. The finer 
particles of clay and silt are often carried long dis- 
tances before the}^ are deposited in the Cjuiet waters of 
some lake or large stream. Since the fine particles were 
carried out in the water beyond where the coarser par- 
ticles were deposited, the clay is usually found above the 
stones, gravel and sand. 

The formation of morainic hills. — In some instances, 
owing to temporary cessation in the increasing warmth, 
the glacier, instead of receding with regularity, stopped 
for a time, or even again i^rogressed for a period. The 
melting taking place only as rapidly as the ice flow 
proceeded, in case the front edge of the glacier remained 
stationary, there was naturally much debris left in the 
place where the ice melted, for the ice always carried 
within its body stones and finer particles of earth. In 
this way ranges of hills were formed. These are called 
moraines, of which there is an example in southwestern 
^Minnesota, called the Coteau Hills, and many others in 
the states over which the glacier flowed. 

Unassorted till formed good soils. — Where the glacier 
dropped its debiis in such a way that we find no distinct 
lamiucTe or layers, the geologists call it ' till, ' or " unas- 



40 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

sorted till." Where water flowing from the melting ice 
washed the loose materials about and deposited them in 
layers of clay, silt, sand, gravel, etc., the geologists call it 
" assorted till." Some of the best soils are those where 
the glacial till is unassorted. The farmers of the middle 
northwest have the great glacier to thank for mixing to- 
gether clay, sand and particles of all kinds of rocks, thus 
making soils wonderfully adapted to the growth of useful 
plants. These soils of mixed materials furnish ideal 
mechanical conditions for the roots of plants, contain 
the needed variety of mineral plant food, conserve the 
remains of plant or animal life as organic fertilizers, 
favor the elaboration and storage of plant food as well as 
the absorption and conservation of soil moisture, serve 
as hospitable homes to useful soil bacteria, and are easily 
handled with cultivating implements. 

Assorted till formed poor soils. — Wherever the water 
assorted the great body of materials drifted along by the 
glacier, some poor soils are found. Layers of sand left 
at the surface give us sandy soils, likewise layers of 
gravel or of boulders make very poor soil, and even 
layers of dense clay without a mixture of sand are less 
valuable than soils made up of these materials mixed. 
Sandy soils in the regions of am])lc rainfall ha\e. in many 
instances, been so covered with vegetation and so filled 
with decaving organic substances, that they retain water 
very well and nourish large crops. Even gravelly soils 
where moisture is abundant, are gradually so changed 
that they raise crops of native plants and make fair 
agricultural soils. Clay soils which are too dense to 
make very good water reservoirs, or to allow the en- 
trance of air, are, likewise, sometimes made into very 
productive soils by the plants which grow on them. 
These clay soils, in some cases, cover large areas. In the 
valley of the Red River of the North is an example. The 
glacial ice melting in "Ancient Lake Agassiz " (see 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORV OF THE EARTH 4I 

Figure 7), which extended from the south border of the 
receding glacier above Winnipeg, Canada, to the region 
of Lake Traverse on the western side ot Minnesota, 
where it had its outlet through what is now called the 
Minnesota river, deposited in its basin a final surface 
layer of fine clay, covering what is now known as the 
valley of the Red River of the North. Clay soils, thus 
laid, have their good qualities and their disadvantages, as 
compared with the best types of mixed soils. 

An undulating country. — The drift formed a generally 
undulating surface over the upper Mississippi valley 
region, the flood waters having eroded hollows, giving 
natural surface drainage ; and the gentler forces acting 
through the long ages since the glacial period have 
rounded down any steeply washed banks, making the 
country one of beautiful broad hills and vales. The 
great prairies of the West resemble the swells of a high 
sea, with the waves and troughs much enlarged. 

In digging into the drift, as in making wells, layers of 
clay, sand, gravel and unassorted till are met with. 
Sometimes these seem to have been deposited in an 
unnatural order, or lie in two or more series of layers. 
In some places glacial streams have eroded large 
masses of the drift, and, carrying it forward, left it in 
assorted layers. Too often sandy or gravelly layers 
have been left at the surface, and form poor soils and 
subsoils. In other cases the unassorted till forming the 
surface contains bowlders, which are an impediment to 
cultivation. There are areas within the glacial region 
over which the glacier did not flow; some are covered 
with soils formed from easily decaying rocks, or, as 
north of Lake Superior and in mountainous regions, are 
of granite, trap rock or sand rock uncovered with soil ; 
others were formed as clay layers and rock ledges. The 
forces still acting on the soil cause it to become more 
productive ; the action of water, of bacteria, of plant 



42 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

roots and of air on the soil are all of great interest and 
lead in a most interesting way to the study erf plants ; 
likewise of animals and men which depend upon the food 
the plants obtain from the soil and air. 

Source of materials moved by glaciers. — The source of 
material moved by the glacier is difficult to determine. 
Doubtless in the beginning of things, when the earth's 
crust first became cool, it was much like the lava which 
now flows from the craters of volcanoes. This glassy, 
hard, rocky substance was not made up like marble or 
limestone or slate, but elements of all kinds of rocks were 
melted together in one mass. This rocky crust was 
broken up by the water, air. sun and winds, literally 
rotted, and thus made into soil ; and later, as the earth 
became cooler, ice became one of the greatest factors 
in soil making, as seen in the immense grinding done 
by the glaciers we have been considering. During the 
earlier geologic periods, doubtless even the interior heat 
helped to break up the material of the earth's crust. 
Water, running into fissures of the earth and coming in 
contact with the heated inner part, formed such volumes 
of steam as to cause great explosions, throwing about 
and breaking up great masses of materials. We have, in 
more recent times, illustrations of volcanic action ; one, 
for instance, when Vesuvius belched forth enough ashes 
to completely bury the city of Pompeii, and, again, more 
recently, on the island of Martinique. 

Some of the materials of the great area of glacial drift 
have doubtless been transported many hundreds of miles. 
Many of the bowlders and other rocks found in Minne- 
sota can be traced to beds of similar materials far to the 
northward in Canada. One of the proofs of the glacial 
action is the fact that the glacier flowed southward and 
carried down from the north many large fragments of 
the rocks over which it passed, as well as much of the 
finely pulverized materials. Usually these coarser ma- 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE EARTH ' 43 

terials were taken from less than a hundred miles; how- 
ever, geologists believe that in Europe, as in America, 
some materials can be identitied as belonging to ledges 
five or six hundred miles northward. The southern two- 
fifths of Minnesota, or that part south of the line drawn 
east and west through St. Cloud, Minnesota, is an area 
where the surface is made up of bowlder clay, more 
technically called " till," into which is mixed clay, sand; 
gravel and stones. This same kind of excellent soil- 
making material was left on the surface through Iowa 
and as far as the glacier proceeded into Alissouri, through 
eastern Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, W isconsin and other 
states eastward adjoining the Great Lakes over whicb 
the great glacier moved. Northeast of St. Cloud, ^lin- 
nesota, there is not such a happy mixture, and the soils 
are assorted, sand, gravel and clay often appearing in 
separate areas. 

Soils formed in place. — Only in the northern states, 
however, do we find these mixed soils of glacial origin. 
In most districts, as in the southern part of the United 
States, the soils have been formed in situ (in place). 
In the Piedmont Plateau region of the South Atlantic 
states the soil is the remains of rocks which have gradu- 
ally decayed, only those particles remaining to form the 
soil which longest resisted decay. In some cases a 
limestone rock has decayed, leaving a limestone soil ; in 
other cases a granite rock has rotted, the more soluble 
particles being washed out, leaving particles forming a 
granitic soil. In some places more than one layer of 
rock has been dissolved, the remains of the upper rock 
being mixed with the remains of the lower layer. In 
many cases the fine particles resulting from this soil 
weathering have been mixed by the agency of water 
and wind, especially in the lower places, resulting in a 
mixed soil, or more frequently in a stratified soil. In 
case of young soils, as where rocks have recently been 



44 FAK.M 1)I':vi:lop.\iknt 

ground fine by glacial action, the broken particles of 
sand have sharp, harsh edges. Where this sand has 
been much worn, as in running water, or in sand dunes 
often shifted by the winds, the particles become rounded. 
In case of soils formed in situ, resulting from very long 
continued action of the elements, the particles are not so 
angular and firm. Like ripened cheese, they have lost 
their toughness as well as their rough edges. 

Some interesting glacial geology : History of the 
Falls of St. Anthony. — A very interesting chapter in the 
history of the glacial period, illustrating the magnitude 
of the changes wrought by geologic forces, is recorded 
in Minnesota. It includes the Falls of St. Anthony, the 
Mississippi and the Minnesota rivers and their water- 
shed in Minnesota; also the valley of the Red River of 
the North, or the bed of the " Ancient Lake Agassiz," 
all of which tell part of the story. 

The valley, from bluff to bluff, of the Minnesota river, 
is considerably larger than the valley of the Mississippi 
at their confluence, as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. 
This is evidence that when the glacier was rapidly melt- 
ing, while its southern boundary was passing from north- 
ern Minnesota, the Minnesota river was much larger 
than the Mississippi, and that a much larger volume of 
water was passing through these rivers than later, when 
only the present watersheds furnished the surplus rain- 
fall to be drained ofif. 

The Ancient Lake Agassiz. — While the southern line 
of the glacier was receding northward toward the region 
of Hudson Bay, there was a lake in the valley of the 
present Red River of the North, as shown in Figure 7. 
This lake has recently been named " Ancient Lake 
Agassiz." The land slopes to the north in that valley, 
but the ice sheet as it receded northward served as a 
dam to the waters, and this so-called " Ancient Lake 
Agassiz " had its outlet to the southward where the Red 



GEOLOCICAL IIISTOKV UF THE EARTH 



45 



River of tlie North and the Minnesota river now iiave 
their sources. As the Minnesota river extended west- 
ward from where it and the Mississippi river came to- 
gether, it received, during" that period, the waters from a 
ver}^ much longer section of the southern edge of the 
glacier than did the Mississippi river. The watershed 
of the Minnesota river during that time extended far out 




Figure 7. The dotted surface, including the system of great lakes, and tlir area 
marked "Lake Agassiz," shows the area covered by the great glacier during the period 
when arctic cold extended far down into the temperate zone. The waters from the melt- 
ing glacier and from the annual rainfall flowed from the southern arm of Lake Agassiz 
into the Minnesota river. 



into North Dakota, into the northwest territories of 
Canada, and even around eastward to the north of the 
]\Iississippi river. In other words, " Ancient Lake 
Agassiz," received water from streams flowing into it 
from the east and from the west as well as from the 
surface of the receding glaciers. The larger watershed, 
supplying a larger flow of water in the ^Minnesota than 
was supplied to the Mississippi river during the 
glacial period, seems to account for the washing out of 



46 



FARM IHA'I'.lJ tI'M I'. N T 




3 LIMESTONE 



I 1 SANDSTONE 



Figure S shows in cruss-sccl ion tin' \[ii)iK'siil;i iiver :iliini' 
uliere it aiul the Mississippi fcJiiio IokcIIiim. This river is n 
type (if tlie cnmmon rivers tiiMile in llie ^'liieiul period. Fnijii 
A t(i H was the surface of tlic flood water in tlie glacial tioio 
wlien the melting water from tlie glacier added to that frnin 
the annual precipitation of rain reipiired a large channel. 
From (" tn I) is tlie pjescnt surface of llie water, nrdina- 
rilv homing hut a small river. Tii the seasons of liigli water, 
as at the time of spring flu, ..Is. the v\:ilei n.s.-; ,s.i .is I., .'..v. r 
the bottoms fmm ]■: l.i 1". 



llic l.'irt^vr \'allr\- i>\ llir Inst ii;iiium1 ri\ cr ; Iml this i,s 
not the most interest iii.i.;" fact. ( l''i,L;iii"es lo and ii.) 

.\s lt>ii,L;' as llie (iri,L;iiial larL;er hcil of the .Minnesota 
ri\-er was well tilled with water at iMirt Snelliiii;-. where 
the two rivers come to.^'ether, the water from the Missis- 

sipiii did not 
fall o \- e r a 
l)reci])ice, but 
tlowed i^ently 
into a body 
of watt'i' nearly 
as hi.i^h as its 
own river l:»ed, 
as shown in 
F i ,^- u r e i r. 
A\'hen the ice 
d a m in the 
vicinity of Lake Winnipei^: was melted low enouo-h for the 
water from " Ancient Lake Aqassiz "' to flow over it, and 
thus drain the water of that lake to the northward into 
Hudson I'av. instead of to the southward into the Gulf 

of Mexico, the Minne- 
sota river no longer re- 
cei\ed water from the 
watershed of the valley 
of the Red River of the 
Xorth and from the 
meltin_c: g'lacier, but 
only that falling- in its 
own valley, extending 
from Rig Stone Lake 
on the west border 
of Minnesota to wdiere St. Paul, Minnesota, now 
stands. This caused the great reduction mentioned 
in the volume of the water in the M-nnesota river; it no 
longer had as large a watershed as the Mississippi, which 




l''igine shows a cn.ss-section ..f the Missis- 
sippi river above wliere the Minnesota er.ters it. 
hut helow the Falls of St. Anthony. Tills river 
at one time carried much more watei than now; 
but. as sliown h.v the width hetweeu the hhifl's. it 
never containe.l as much water as the irinnesot.i 
liver did during tlie recession of llie great gla- 
cier, as shown in Figure S. 



GKOLOCICAL IIIS'IOKN' Ol' ll 1 !•: EARTH 



47 



extends from St. Paul nf)rtl) to Lake Itasca, and is 
broader than the watershed of the Minnesota; and hence 
the Minnesota changed from much the larger river to 
the smaller one. 

The recession of the Falls of St. Anthony. — The waters 
of the Mississippi now had to fall over a precipice, as 
shown at D, Figure 12, to get down to the deep bed of 
the Minnesota River, where it had previously flowed 
directiv out into the waters which filled the original 



r^T^ 



v^.;^:-::;; 




Figure 10. The .irea inclosed by the Hue thus —..—..—..—.. is the aiea fovmeily 
drained by tlie Jlinnesota river. The area at jjresent drained by tlie siuiie river is 

surrounded by the solid line, thus . Tlie area then, as now. drained by the 

Mississippi river above where the two rivers flow together is inclosed by a broken 
line, thus -------- 



banks of the Alinnesota, as shown in B, Figure ii. 
At this time and in this way the Falls of St. Anthony 
were formed. The water fell over a ledge of limestone 
rock which is underlaid with a very thick stratum of 
loosely cemented sandstone, that is easily worn away 
by the falling water. The waterfall thus gradually 
undermined the overlying limestone, which broke off 
in large masses and was washed away. Thus the falls 
had receded northwestward about six miles to within a 



48 



FAUM DKVELOPMENT 



few liuiuJred feet of the present site, when they were 
first discovered by the European explorers, and named 
the Falls of St. Anthony. From comparisons of descrip- 
tions and drawings made by the earliest explorers, and 
pictures taken at later dates, it seems that these falls 

receded at the 
rate of several 
feet per year, or 
that the falls re- 
c e d ed eight 
miles in about 
seven or eight 

Jlimiesota river In , , 

from the valley of tllOUSaud yCarS. 

urfacc of the water ^„, -^ 

has been 







LIMtSTONE 



SANDSTONE 



Figure 11. A. surface of water in the Minnesota river 
glaeial times when it received the water I 

the present Red River of the North. B. su ^ ^ ,. 

in the Mississippi river in glacial times when it flowed gently l his 

into the well-flllert cliannel of the ilinnesota liver. X. tht 

limestone. Y, the la.ver of sandstone helow. tllOUO'ht bv SOmC 

to very roughly mark the date when the glacial dam was 
melted low enough to allow the waters of the valley of 
the Red River of the North, then the " Ancient Lake 
Agassiz." to flow northward into the Hudson Bay and 
no longer swell the l^anks of the ^Minnesota River, which 
began to shrink to a 
small stream in the bed 
of the old river. 

In 1 87 1 it was found 
that the Falls of St. 
Anthony, beside which 
a number of flour and 
saw mills had been 
erected, were in dan- 
ger of being under- 
mined and washed out. The water had broken 
through crevices in the lime rock, which was thin, 
and was wearing away the soft sandstone beneath. 
As this would have caused the falls to recede 
very rapidly, and to become a mere rapids, destroy- 
ing the valuable water power, the United States 




Figure 12. The Falls of St. Anthony wlien Us 
recession had ju.st begun. A. water in the Min- 
nesota, after it had ceased to receive the 
glacial water. B, water in the Mississippi river 
above the falls. 0, water in the Mississippi 
river below the falls. D. the Falls of St. An- 
thony when yet at a point near the confluence 
of the two rivers. 



GEOLOGICAL lilSTOKV OF THL EARTH 



49 



government put in a solid wall of masonry and an apron 
to preserve the falls, not in their picturesque form, but 
so as to conserve the water power. (See E in Figure 13.) 




figure i:i. The Mississippi river. A. J'alls of St. Aiitliony. B, dam below the 
falls. 0, tlie Minnesota river at tlie confluence if the two rivers. D, apron to prevent 
the falls from further receding. E, retaining wall above tlie falls. K. the present city 
of Minneapolis. M, the group of great flouring mills. 0, river below dam. Z. drift 
above the limestone. X, limestone. Y. sandstone. 

In 1896 a dam was built in the rapids a short distance 
below the falls, for added power to be obtained. (See 
B, Figure 13.) As the Mississippi river descends quite 

rapidly between the 
great falls and the con- 
fluence of the two 
rivers, there is room 
between the high bluffs 
for other dams which 
are being erected. 

In Figure 12 is a 
diagram showing the 
recession of the Falls 
of St. Anthony very 
soon after the recession 
began. In Figure 13 
is a diagram showing 
the falls at the present 
time, also the mills for 
which they furnish 
power. Minnehaha 




Figure 14. A diagrammatic map sliowing how the 
water in flood times, during (lie glacial period, flowed 
aiound tlie higher land at X. X, following the 
flood course of F. F, F, and entered through a 
branch stream into the river at K below the 
present gorge from G to G. No doubt there ws 
once a falls that gradually receded from G to G. 
as the water pouring over the limestone layer of 
lock disintegrated the soft sandstone underneath 
it and undermined the thin limestone. At the 
confluence of the two flood streams a great gravel 
bed was foi-med at O from the maferi'^ls washed 
out through the floodway at F-F. Another gravel 
bed was formed, pos.sibly at a later date, at I". 



50 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



I 

H 


B> 












-A 


V 






/ 


D'^ 


^C 





Figui-e 15. Tlie broadei- valley of the glacial 
rivei- where it was cut through the loose till, as 
above the gorge G-G in Figure 14, during glacial 
times. A-B, surface of floml water in glacial 
times. E-F. flood water cuveruig the present val- 
ley. C-D, present sticam hcii. 




Falls, made famous by Longfellow's poem, are in a 
stream, Minnehaha creek, which flows from beautiful 

Lake Minnetonka and 
enters the Mississippi 
river about one-fourth 
of the way from the 
mouth of the Minne- 
sota river to the Falls 
of St. Anthony. Min- 
nehaha Falls did not 
begin to form until the Falls of St. Anthony had 
receded past the mouth of Minnehaha creek, when the 
creek waters began to tumble 
into the deepened bed of the 
Mississippi river. ^Minnehaha 
J'alls, like the Falls of St. An- 
thony, have since then gradu- in Figmo ig is .shown a doss-sec- 

,, 111 1 L X'ww of a river where the glacial floods 

allV receded, bV the waters cut through limestone .ind sandstone. 

.■' . . ' forming the gorge at G-G in Figure 

mminS' into the very loosely H- Here no bmad valley is found on 

° •' ■" eitlier side of tlie present stream. At 

coherent sandstone from be- ^"'''' ^"^'^ seemed veiT strange, since 
v^uiiciciiL 3ctiiU3LWin„ liuiit uc i^^^^,^ farther up the stream, as above 

npntVi fl-lf> Iprlcrp nf 1iinf><;tonp ''• ""^ farther down, as below F. the 
neain tne leuge Ol ilinebLOlie, waterway had been cut out broader 

/-iiicJnrr I'f +r^ Ki-f^ot' /-.fif time 1'^' '^^"^ glacial water. Upon further 

CaUSmg It to Oreak Orr. tnUS inspection evidence was found that 

1 most of the flood water during glacial 

wearing awav a gorge nearlV a times had passed around tlie higher 

, , - ^ ..^ .'^ , '. 1 '"ind underlaid with rock, as shown 

fourth of a mile long, at the in Figure 14. a, water at flood. B, 

. . water wlien no flood is on. 

upper end of which is Min- 
nehaha Falls, the Indian name for laughing water. In 
Figures 14, 15 and 16 is shown one of the slow but mighty 
changes wrought by water acting through many cen- 
turies. There is evidence that the two rivers which now 
flow together at K formerly had their confluence across 
the line, F. F, F, at least in flood seasons. The north 
river gradually cut the soft rock out of its east branch, 
forming a gorge at G, G, and it no longer flows across 
F, F, F, even in flood seasons. A very small stream now 
follows F, F, F. 



CHAPTER V 
THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 

The soil is that part of the earth's surface into which 
tlie roots of plants penetrate. We often speak, in a nar- 
rower sense, of the soil as that part of the earth which 
we handle with tillage implements. The term " furrow- 
slice " refers to that rather definite zone of soil which is 
inverted by the moldboard, disk plow or the gar- 
den spade in preparing the surface of the land for cul- 
tivation. " Subsoil " refers to that part of the soil 
below the furrow-slice. The terms " dust blanket " and 
" dirt mulch " are often used to indicate that upper por- 
tion of the furrow-slice which is kept open and mellow, 
as by intercultural tillage, that the soil moisture may not 
readily rise quite to the surface by capillary action, but 
be stopped before it reaches the surface where it would 
be readily evaporated. The term " furrow pan " is 
sometimes used to designate a layer at the top of the 
subsoil, made by the compacting of the horses' feet and 
the plowshare on the bottom of the furrow. 

The soil is usually made up of a framework of 
more or less finely divided mineral particles, of partially 
decayed inorganic particles, of water, of air, of small 
quantities of soluble substances, and of bacteria and 
other low forms of life. In some cases, as peaty soils, 
the body of the soil solids is decaying organic matter, 
and in rare cases soils are mainly water. Most plants 
prefer to live in soils composed mainly of stony par- 
ticles, with only suflficient water to partially fill the 
interstices, giving room for considerable air. Some 
plants prefer a soil so saturated with water that 
the air is excluded. Still other plants like best to have 

51 



52 FAR.AE DEVELOPMENT 

a saturated peaty soil, and some species thrive with 
their roots in standing' or running water. Yet other 
])lants have become accustomed to very dry soils, in 
which there is but little capillary water; and some even 
li\e bv securing water mainly from the air. 

Soil formation. — The body of most soils consists of 
rocky particles resulting from the action of changes in 
temperature, and of sunlight, water, winds, ice, plants, 
animals, man and other agencies on the rocky covering 
of the earth's surface. In most places there has gradu- 
ally accumulated above the rocky crust of the earth a 
layer, many feet in depth, of more or less finely divided 
mineral materials, and our present soils have been a long 
time in reaching a condition suitalile for growing crops. 
In other cases the layer of pulverized material, coarse 
or fine, or coarse and fine mixed. l)ut thinly covers the 
underlying rocks, or the solid rock remains uncovered. 
Minute plants, as bacteria, lichens and mosses, and 
finally grasses and larger plants, develop in or on ex- 
posed masses of mixed minerals, and a soil with decay- 
ing vegetable matter is formed which provides a home 
hospitable to most of the flowering plants. 

Soils differ as to the size of the particles of which they 
are composed and as to the arrangement or mixture of 
these particles. The finest soils are clays made up of 
very fine particles which are closely knit together. Silt 
soils are not so fine nor are the particles of a nature 
to adhere so closely to each other. Fine sandy soils, 
medium sandy soils, coarse sandy soils and gravelly 
soils, are grades in which the particles become coarser 
and coarser, with less and less power to adhere 
closely to each other. Clay, silt, sand, gravel and stones 
may be mixed together in all kinds of proportions. Any 
mixture of clay or silt and sand which combines the 
adhesiveness of clay or silt with some of the open 
crumbly character of sand makes a good medium soil, 



THE SOIL AAD SOIL FORMATION 53 

which allows water to enter, holds to the water as 
against either seepage or evaporation, conserves fer- 
tility, and yet allows the roots of crops to penetrate 
easily and supplies them with that combination of water, 
air and plant food which makes them thrive. Any rea- 
sonable proportion of the coarser and finer particles, as 
one-fourth clay and three-fourths sand, or three-fourths 
clay and one-fourth sand, provides good physical condi- 
tions for crops. Soils arising from many kinds of rocks, 
the particles mixed by various agencies in varying pro- 
portions and reassorted into layers, are of many types. 
The various sizes of particles, the substances of which 
the particles from different rocks are composed, the 
proportion of organic matter and other characters, en- 
able soils to be classified in rather definite groups. 

Whitney of the Bureau of Soils of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, under whom soil surveys 
of many counties have been made, has classified the 
soils of the country under several hundred types, and 
expects to add still more types. This is an artificial 
classification made for convenience in mapping soils and 
in studying farm management, and is necessarily less 
definite than the classifications that botanists and 
zoologists have made of plants and animals. Living 
organisms have had the living force of heredity plus the 
inorganic forces to develop natural grouping, while soils 
have been grouped by the common physical forces 
alone. 

Areas of types of soils. — The elevation and depression 
of the earth's crust, causing the shifting of seas and 
changes in the direction of the flow of streams ; the flow- 
ing of surface waters ; the action of winds, glaciers and 
other agencies, have in one place made mixed soils and 
in another soils of only one kind or size of materials. 
Some soils are thus very simple and others very 
complex. 



54 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

These soil areas, whether formed in situ of the least 
easily decayed rock substance : in homogeneous layers, as 
of clay or sand assorted and deposited by some agency; 
or composed of mixed materials, as a bowlder clay or a 
sandy clay, are in areas irregular in outline, and usually 
much overlapped and mixed. A general soil survey of 
any locality, outlining the extent of its soil types and 
mapping each area under an a]>propriate name, gives a 
basis for studying the need of each soil area and for 
developing good cultural systems suited to it. Follow- 
ing the soil survey naturally come the fertilizer and crop 
rotation surveys, and the general farm management sur- 
\ey for determining, by systematic field plot tests on 
each soil type, the fertilizers needed, also the kinds of 
rotation and systems of farm management which best 
maintain high productivity and are permanently the most 
profitable. 

All the activities breaking up the surface of the 
earth's crust, mixing and piling some materials here, 
assorting and spreading others there, leaving the under- 
lying rocks deeply buried in one place and uncovered 
in another, have given to one section good materials 
for soils and left another a barren waste of rock or a 
desert of sand. The surface of mixed material forming 
loose earth, mainly sand and clay, is rapidly changed 
into a productive soil. On the other hand, the changing 
of inhospitable lava beds, the transformation of the dense 
clay recently risen from the lake, the l:)inding and bet- 
tering of the drifting sand surface, or the filling up of a 
gravel bed and making it into a hospitable soil, have all 
taken ages of time, even under the many forces at work. 

Agencies in soil formation. — The physical agencies — 
air, sun, wind, water and ice, heat and cold — are in 
some cases sufficient to crumble the lava. Spores of 
minute lichens fall upon hard- rock, germinate and form 
small plants. These live mostly upon moisture and air, 



THE SOIL Ai\U SOIL FORMATION 55 

obtaining- some food from the dust and soil particles 
continually being brought forward from adjacent soil 
areas. A\'here the small plant comes in contact with 
granite or other rock, it secures minute quantities of 
mineral food. One lichen plant living and decaying 
makes it possible for others to grow. These, decaying 
on some rock surface and lodging in some crevice, result 
in an accumulation of vegetable matter and make a soil 
habitable for more highly organized bodies, as mosses. 
The mosses, in their turn, gathering into their branches 
more or less particles of crumbled rock and other ma- 
terial driven by the wind or carried by the water, decay, 
adding humus to the soil, and finally make a place 
suitable for the germination of seeds and a feeding 
ground for roots of some of the more highly organized 
plants. Thus it is possible for the most inhospitable 
surfaces to be made more or less productive. It is quite 
possible that bacteria came before lichens and acted as 
soil-forming agents before the latter plants were 
evolved. 

Soil formation under difficulties. — In gravel beds the 
]:)rocesses of disintegration and soil building have been 
similar to those of solid rock surfaces. Small plants 
that can exist in unfavorable conditions must grow first. 
Their decaying bodies make it easier for the next genera- 
tion, or for higher plants, and the soil is gradually en- 
riched. If moisture is abundant in gravel beds, the sur- 
face of the land is gradually filled with lichens, mosses, 
and other simple plant organisms ; and finally, flower- 
ing plants find in the gravel hospitable nooks for a few 
roots, where decaying plant materials hold moisture and 
])lant food for their use. Even where the gravel is so 
large as to be called stones or bowlders, the mosses and 
other plants have found an abode, and the result has 
been that some of these soils have been so filled up with 
decaying mosses and other plants that they are now 



56 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

covered with groves of large trees. Tn the dry season 
of 1894, the forest fires in places burned away forests in 
the Great Lakes region, and even burned the mosses 
and other veg'etable materials, so that in some bowlder 
soils one could see a foot or more down among the 
bowlders. Thus was destroyed in a day a forest-bear- 
ing soil which nature had required manv centuries to 
build. 

In some places vast tracts of land are covered with 
sand, and furnish most difficult conditions for vegeta- 
tion to start. In case these sandy soils lie many 
feet above the supply of underground water and are so 
dry that plants cannot get their roots down to the 
moisture, nature covers them with vegetatioji only with 
great difficulty. Tlie minute lichens, or even large plants, 
have trouble here in securing a foothold, for the sand is 
shifted about by the wind, and, in some cases, the shift- 
ing is so regular that plants can never be produced by 
nature in quantity to bind the sand into a soil and thus 
cover it with a blanket of vegetation for protection. 
Where the moisture is near the surface of the sand, as 
where water seeps out through a hillside, or where clay 
lies near the surface, or where the sand is near water 
which passes back under it, plants can get their roots 
into this water and more quickly fill the soil with de- 
caying plant roots and other materials to protect them 
from the winds. Thus some sandy lands lying high and 
dry, shift before the wind and are never covered with 
vegetation, while others that seem equally sandy at the 
surface, but contain water within reach, are covered with 
a luxuriant growth. 

Soil formation on moorlands. — Where water lies on 
flat areas and keeps roots and stems of mosses and 
other plants from decaying, there is formed a layer 
of partially decayed vegetable matter, called peat, 
or peaty soils. The strangest place, however, for soil 



THE SOIL AND SUIL FORMATION 57 

formation is on the surface of the water, on ponds and 
lakes, where peat is formed by the growth of moss and 
higher plants resting on the Avater. Alany places are 
to be found where peat a few inches to many feet in 
thickness covers, or partially covers, areas of very 
moist land, and even of lakes. In some cases, even 
where the peaty substances are thick, sand and clay have 
been washed in from adjacent hillsides, and have been 
arranged in layers with the peat, or have been in- 
timately mixed with it, and thus a soil of mixed vegetable 
and mineral matter is formed. 

Soil formation under favorable conditions. — Soil 
formation on clay takes place more rapidly than on the 
kinds of land above mentioned. Here the consistency 
or texture of the land allows the entrance of both air 
and water to the roots of the plants, and provides favor- 
able conditions for the germination of seeds of the 
higher forms of plant life. Here, too, lichens and mosses 
were doubtless useful. In this soil their pioneer work 
in preparing it for the higher flowering plants naturally 
would be more rapid, or possibly in many cases un- 
necessary. The higher plants in turn would send 
their roots into the soil, opening up the clay and letting 
in more air and water, thus helping to draw off the 
excess of moisture, producing that mixture of air, water 
and soil particles best adapted to the plants which we 
grow in arable lands. 

The glacial mixtures of sand and clay, the alluvial soils 
formed by running water, also the soils of mixed sand 
and clay formed /// situ from decaying rocks, were 
even more easily formed into rich soils. Here the 
lichens and mosses and the other small plants following 
them could easily get hold and find at once conditions 
of moisture, aeration and mineral plant food suited to 
their growth. The larger plants here find many con- 
ditions favorable to their growth, and the elaboration of 



58 FARM DEV]•:LOP^rENT 

plant food and its supply is provided in llie manner best 
suited to the plants. It was on this kind of soil that 
the greatest A-ariety of natural crops first learned to grow. 
Here plants flourished and sent many roots into the 
soil. The decaying of both tops and roots furnished 
humus which, mixed with the rock substances, rapidly 
formed a great alDundance of fertile soil. This made a 
congenial soil for many of the clovers and other wild 
leguminosae : the class of plants which have the power 
to extract from the air quantities of nitrogen, which, 
stored in the roots, stems and leaves, further enriches 
the soil. 

Sustaining soil fertility. — The soils that are built up 
of a mixture of clay, sand, gravel and stones usually 
afiford superior conditions for the permanent growth of 
large crops. It is on these soils that it is possible 
from generation to generation to increase rather than 
to decrease the productivity of the land by scientific 
field management. It is our duty, not only to keep lands 
up to their virgin fertility, but to increase their crop- 
producing powders, SO' that future generations may have 
a richer heritage than we had. To do this, we can raise 
large crops and either leave a part of them on the fields, 
or, having taken them to the barn as feed for our 
animals, return the greater part of their substance in the 
form of manure, to the soil, so as to keep up a supply of 
vegetable matter. A\^e can also use more artificial means 
of keeping up the productivity of the soil, as by com- 
mercial fertilizers. By allowing animals to take 
toll from the annual crop produced, and yet return the 
larger percentage of the organic matter, we can gradu- 
ally increase the crop-producing power of most soils, 
but often we may use commercial fertilizers also to 
greatly increase the yields. 

The soil a complex bank. — In a new bank, the money 
deposited in excess of that withdrawn, is a simple form of 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 50 

capital. i\s this excess is loaned and the interest earn- 
ings minus the cost of running; the hank is addech the 
form of the capital becomes more complex. W hen some 
of the loans result unfavorably, the books are com- 
plicated by records of uncollected interest, mortgage 
foreclosures, property rentals on real estate, charges to 
the loss account, uncollected rental charges, etc. Rumors 
of the insolvency of the leading owners of the bank, of 
unreliability of the bank ol^cers, and even defalcation, 
may prejudice the minds of the public against the bank, 
causing a falling ofif of the business, or e^en may result 
m a run on the bank. The business thus becomes very 
complex, and some very minor matter, as a true or 
untrue rumor as to the solvency of the banks in the 
town, or of the bank in question, may cause the bank 
to decline. 

A soil is a far more complex store of wealth than a 
bank. Its original capital is more indestructible, but 
its ability to pay dividends rests on even more con- 
tingencies than in the case of the ordinary bank. Even 
where plants can draw upon the soil for all the mineral 
matter the}^ need without seriously reducing the amount 
yearly made available, other conditions may determine 
the yields of crops. Recent investigations indicate that 
some soils are made infertile by very minute quantities 
of substances poisonous to the plants. At first this 
seems very strange, but a simple example from practices 
in fish culture will illustrate how minute quantities of 
poisons in solutions will act on living things. In a cer- 
tain fish hatchery the water, as it runs from a spring 
into the troughs where the little fish are kept, becomes 
filled with a minute green plant called an alga. A 
barrel of water containing sulphate of copper is placed 
beside the S]iring. and from it a sufficient amount of this 
copper solution is allowed to drip to give it a strength 
of one part in 5.000.000, or one fifty-thousandth part of 



6o FARM DEVELOPMENT 

one per cent. This strengtli of solution has been found 
strong enough to kill the alga without injury to the fish, 
while a solution a few times as strong would cause the 
fish to thrive so poorly as to cause loss rather than gain 
from their culture. 

Those who have given this matter most study believe 
that, in respect to many plants, minute amounts of sub- 
stances poisonous to them or to certain other plants, are 
either given ofif by their roots, yielded by their decaying 
products or supplied by bacteria associated with their 
roots; while, as in the case of the fish, there are still 
other plants which they do not affect. As the reputation 
for honesty or dishonest}^ of the manager of a savings 
bank may cause the institution to prosper or decline, so 
it is believed those minute substances often cause profit 
or loss from the fields. This theory has not as yet been 
placed wholly in harmony with the generally accepted 
theory as to the function of manures and commercial fer- 
tilizers as so much available plant food added to the soil. 
Presumably when more is known of the soil and how 
plants feed, both the old and the new theories will be 
brought into harmony. The fact that wheat does well 
after corn, but often does not yield so well after wheat 
or oats, and that crop rotation often increases the 
production of all the crops in the rotation over a long 
series of years, cannot be so fully explained as by ac- 
cepting the theory of toxic soil substances, along with 
the theory of the stimulation of the crops by feeding 
them with yard manure or commercial fertilizers. 

With the peaty soils there is an over-abundance of 
vegetable matter. The question with these soils often 
is. how to enrich them in mineral substances. Care must 
be taken to prevent peaty soil from being burned too 
deeply, since once the surplus water is drained out of 
peaty lands, they become dry and will burn if set on 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 6l 

Wrc. SO that great holes or pits are often left, making the 
surface very uneven. This is of especial importance in 
regions where drouths occur of sufficient duration to 
allow the peat to dry out to considerable depth. 

Soil body and soil fertility. — The solid body, or frame- 
work, of the soil usually makes up 90 per cent, or more, 
of the weight, and is composed of the solid particles of 
clay, sand and stone from which the soil was made. 
Spillman says : 

" In order to understand the methods necessary for 
restoring worn-out soils, let us consider what occurs in 
a fertile soil that is growing a large crop. Imagine a 
cubic inch of ordinary field soil magnified into a cubic 
mile. It would then present very much the appear- 
ance of a mass of rocks varying from the size of a pea 
to masses several feet in diameter. Scattered among 
these rock masses would be many pieces of decaying 
plant roots and other organic matter, resembling rotting 
logs in a mass of stones and gravel. The masses of 
organic matter would be found to contain large quan- 
tities of water, and to somewhat resemble wet sponges. 
while every mass of rock would have a layer of water 
covering its surface. The open spaces between the solid 
masses would be filled with air. 

" If a crop were growing on this soil, its roots would 
be found threading their way among the masses of rock 
and decaying roots, and pushing these aside by the pres- 
sure exerted by the growing root. From the surface of 
the growing root, near its tip, root hairs extend into the 
open spaces and suck up the water covering the rock par- 
ticles. The plant food is dissolved in this water, but is 
usually present in exceedingly small quantities. \Miile 
the plant is growing, a constant stream of water flows up 
through it and evaporates at its leaves. For every pound 
of growth in dr}^ matter made by the plant, from 300 to 
800 pounds of Avater flow up through it." 



62 FAKM DEVELOPMENT 

Substances used by plants. — l^lants take from the soil 
and require for their growth and development the follow- 
ing elements: Potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, iron, 
calcium, magnesium, sulphur and chlorine. These 
elements, together with carljon, hydrogen and oxygen, 
which may be considered as derived in some form from 
the air, are absolutely necessary for the growth of 
all higher plants. In the absence of any one of these 
elements none of the higher plants can reach maturity. 
Other elements, such as silicon, sodium and aluminum, 
are also invariably present in plants, but they are not 
necessary, as shown by accurate experiments. Besides 
these, such elements as titanium, copper, manganese and 
others have also been found, but their presence seems to 
be accidental ; that is, they have been taken up because 
they happened to be present in the soil where the plants 
grew, thus making it impossible for the plants to reject 
them when they occur in solution in the soil water. It 
must be understood, of course, that plants do not 
take up these elements as such, but find them in the soil 
in combination with other substances. For example, 
calcium is not taken up in its elementary form, but 
occurs in the soil, combined with nitrogen and oxygen, 
as calcium nitrate, and as such may be taken up. It 
also occurs in many other compounds. 

The food material which the plant takes from the soil 
forms only a small per cent of its weight, as shown by 
the percentage of ash found on burning. The amount 
varies, according to the plant, between, approximately, 
T per cent and lo per cent. The bulk of the plant is 
made up of the elements derived from the air and water 
— carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The cell walls, 
starches, sugars, organic acids, etc.. are composed almost 
exclusively of these three elements; while certain other 
compounds like proteids, as the gluten of wheat, contain 
in addition to these, nitrogen and small amounts of sul- 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORAIATION 6;^ 

phur and phos)-»liorus. Hydrogen and oxyqcn are taken 
up through the roots of plants in the form of water, 
while carbon is taken from the air through the leaves 
in the form of carbonic acid gas. The atmosphere con- 
tains only about four-hundredths of i per cent of car- 
bonic acid gas. There is. nevertheless, a great abun- 
dance in the air for cro]:)-producing purposes. 

Mechanical classification of soils. — Clay ma} be sep- 
arated from the sand by stirring the soil with water, 
allowing the sand to settle, then taking it out, and 
evaporating the water from the clay which is left in sus- 
pension. The silt, sand and other coarser particles may 
be separated by apparatus devised for that purpose. 

The following table shows how Professor F. H. King, 
in his book, " The Soil," classifies soils as to their me- 
chanical make-up, showing the general proportions of 
san.d, clay and decaying vegetable matter in the several 
classes of soil : 

Sand Clay Ilumus 

percent percent i)er cent 

1. Sanrly soil, containing. . . SO to 90 8 to 10 1 to 3 

2. Sandy loam, containing. 60 to 80 10 to iTi 2 to 6 
Z. Loam, containing 25 to 60 60 to 25 3 to 8 

4. Clayey loam, containing. 10 to 25 60 to 80 3 to 8 

5. Clay soil, containing. .. . 8 to 15 70 to 80 3 to 6 

The so-called heavy soils are those made up too largely 
of clay, and are described as " heavy," because they are 
difficult to handle with the plow, cultivator or hoe. But 
the air space being greater, these soils, bulk for bulk, are 
lighter than the soils of coarser texture. They are soft 
when wet, tough when partially dry, and Avhen dried 
they become very hard. Soils composed ])rincipally of 
fine clay will clog on the plow, the ])articles adhering 
very closely to the smoothest steel implement. Some of 
the densest cla3's are called gumbo soils. They are not 
only handled with difficulty, but they are too dense to 
allow an excess of water to drain out ; they do not admit 
sufficient '^ir; plant roots cannot readily penetrate them. 



64 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

and soil bacteria do not find in them favorable condi- 
tions for development. They stand more abuse under 
a poor system of farming than do soils of more open 
texture. 

Light, sandy, gravelly or chalky soils are extreme in 
the opposite direction ; being too porous, they dry out 
very readily. Most of these soils are not permanently 
productive unless treated very v^^isely. The air cir- 
culates in them readily, they are warm, their small 
amounts of organic substances rapidly decay and the 
waters of rains percolating down through them carry 
out a large proportion of the resulting soluble 
substances. They are sometimes called " hungry " 
soils. Barnyard or other vegetable manures decompose 
rapidly in these open soils and thus become quickly 
available for plants to use. These soils are also called 
warm, or quick, soils. They are ready for crops early 
in the spring, and, because the plant food is in an avail- 
able condition, crops start quickly and usually grow 
rapidly in the first part of the season. They are also 
called drouthy soils, as they allow the larger portion of 
rain falling on them at once to percolate downward, 
retaining by their capillary forces only a small part. 
Their pores being so large, they do not readily bring up 
water from below by capillary action. On account of 
this porosity the air circulates in them freely in a dry 
time. Their total content of water is relatively small, 
and plants exhaust it rapidly. They dry out so rapidly 
that they often do not contain enough water for the roots 
of plants. In countries of ample rainfall, or where it is 
practicable to irrigate, and where barnyard manure or 
other complete fertilizers are easily procured, light soils 
often have an especially high valvie for raising vegetables, 
particularly early ones. But, as a rule, light lands are 
not very profitable for general farming, .and the lighter 
they are the less profitable, especially in districts subject 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 65 

to periods of drouth. Alany light soils are far better 
adapted to forest crops than to field crops. 

Medium soils are made up of sand and clay, coarser 
and finer rock particles, mixed. They are sufficiently 
open to absorb large quantities of water, and they have 
the ability to retain it. They are usually productive 
soils, having large quantities of organic matter rather 
firmly " fixed," among the mineral soil particles. These 
soils provide the best home for the roots of plants, being 
neither too dense for the easy penetration of the roots, 
too close for the circulation of air, water and heat, nor 
too drouthy ; and they provide a healthy place for those 
1>acteria which are friends of the crop. These medium 
soils sometimes are given names indicating their geolog- 
ical origin, as till soils, bowlder clay soils, loose soils and 
alluvial soils. 

On the prairies these soils are nearly black, and bear a 
rich covering of native grasses. In the timber sections 
I hey carry a heavy growth of trees, usually of the 
deciduous class. Color is not a very good general index 
to the richness of a soil ; some rich soils are black, others 
red. yellow or other lighter shades. 

These mixed soils are the golden mean : they form the 
kind of land upon which every farmer should be am- 
bitious to establish himself and his family. Such soils 
often sell below their real value. They are the lands 
on which usually may be raised the best crops. These 
soils are most suitable for mixed and intensive systems 
of farming. They are adapted to grains, grasses, cul- 
tivated crops, roots, garden vegetables, small fruits and 
forest trees ; in fact, to almost all staple crops for which 
the latitude is favorable. 

Peaty soils, formed in wet places by the accumulation 
of vegetable matter in the water, where it decomposes 
only very slowly, differ from the three classes of soils 
named above in that thev contain little mineral but 



66 FAK.M l)l';Vi:L()i'.\IENT 

much vegetable matter. A\'hen peat is well rotted, it is 
sometimes called muck, a soil term also applied to rich 
mud in the bottoms of streams or standing water. 

In other cases, peat is built up on flat, level lands, 
where the constant supply of waters flowing down a 
long, nearly flat incline, or out of a seepy hillside, 
furnishes moisture to preserve the dead vegetable mat- 
ter from decaying and supplies the needed conditions 
for the growth of peat-forming plants. These stretches 
of peaty lands, sometimes many miles across, are often 
co\'ered with trees, such as tamarack and spruce ; in 
other cases they bear only small shrubs, in some local- 
ities called heath, and in other places wild grasses and 
sedges grow. Dead trees, falling down, often become a 
part of the mass of peat in these low places, and mosses, 
such as sphagnum, form a large part of the peaty sub- 
stance. Peat bogs, natural meadows, and muskegs are 
common names for wet areas of this class of soils, which, 
by open drains and subdrains, may be converted into 
arable soils suited to at least some of the crops grown 
on upland soils. Peaty soils are usually not nearly as 
valuable as good soils of mixed mineral particles. Some 
are especially suited to certain vegetables, as celery ; in 
cold, temperate regions they grow better grasses, as red 
top and timothy for hay, than cereal or leguminous crops. 

Alkaline soils occur where there is much evaporation 
from the soil, and very little rainfall and poor drainage. 
The alkaline character comes from compounds of soda 
and other alkaline compounds brought to the surface by 
the water, which rises by capillarity and evaporates, 
leaving the alkali either as a white or colored crust or in 
the soil near the surface. The plant roots find the water 
in the soil so strongly impregnated with certain of these 
alkaline salts that they do not make a healthy growth. 
Some soils contain such an excess of alkaline salts that 
they are nearly or quite worthless. 



THE SOIL ASD SOIL FOKMATKJX 6/ 

To show how these alkaline sul)stances are deposited, 
one may take a i^lass tumbler, fill it half full of salt and 
then fill with water. If the tumbler is allowed to remain 
in a warm room for some weeks it will be observed that 
the water creeps up the sides of the tumbler and even 
over the edge and down the outside, and deposits a layer 
of salt on the wall of the glass. The water rises over 
the tumJjler, by cai:)illarity through this crust, and where 
it evaporates it leaves salt. In the same way many 
soluble salts in the soil are left at or near the surface, 
where the rising water evaporates. Thus in regions of 
light rainfall and \cry dry air, seepage water containing 
alkali, coming constantly to the surface in a low area, as 
at the foot of a hill, and there evaporating, often causes 
•such an accumulation of alkali near the surface that 
most plants will not thrive. Some ])lants are accus- 
tomed to growing in soils containing considerable 
alkali. 

Relation of air to soil and plants. Room for air in 
soils. — While most arable soils contain some relatively 
large i)articles. the bulk of these soils is composed mainly 
of very finely divided ])articles, ""/^.-.ooo part of an inch 
and less in diameter. Soil materials divided into these 
very small particles have an immense total surface area, 
^fany of the tiny surfaces are applied so closely together 
that they exclude air. and even water, from coming in 
contact with them. There are, however, in ordinary 
scmIs numerous interstices among the larger particles, 
which give room for both air and water. Soils con- 
taining humus will absorb and tenaciously retain more 
water than the same soils without humus. Soils hold 
in their pore spaces and on the surfaces of their par- 
ticles, by the force called capillarity, considerable water. 
When this capillary force is only partly satisfied, these 
interstices serve as channels through which water can 
be moved from one part of the soil to another part from 



68 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

which evaporation or the action of roots has depleted 
the supply of water. The interstices are not filled with 
water, unless the soil is flooded or not properly drained. 
Soils rarely have even all their interspaces of a capillary 
size filled with water ; in other words, the capillary power 
of soils is usually only partly satisfied. The larger in- 
terspaces are filled with air. Should the land be flooded 
with water, however, all these openings are filled, and 
the air, being lighter than water, is driven out. 

The soil needs air to supply oxygen to the growing 
roots and to the germinating seeds ; to assist in 
fermenting manures, dead roots and other fertiliz- 
ing materials; to furnish oxygen for bacteria and 
other low organisms, part of which assist in pre- 
paring the soil for higher plants. Air needs to cir- 
culate in the soil to remove carbon dioxide and probably 
other deleterious gases, and to oxidize substances which 
may be unwholesome to plants. Roots of plants and 
germinating seeds will suffocate if not supplied with 
oxygen. 

Earth worms, insects and small animals perforate the 
ground with holes and thus allow the air to circulate 
more freel}" : and they also help to mix the subsoil with 
the surface soil. Clover, alfalfa, corn and other plants with 
long roots whicli die and decay, leave air passages in the 
soil. After rains in summer. Avhen the soil is moist and 
at a temperature suited to the growth of bacteria and 
fungi, cultivation lets the air in. presumably aiding many 
of these mintite agencies in their work. When saline 
substances have been brought to the surface by capillary 
water, they are left there as a cement after the water 
has evaporated, and bind together the particles of sur- 
face soil into a crust. Here cultivation is necessary to 
open the soil to a freer circulation of the air. The soil 
is not such an inert mass as is generally believed. The 
particles are moved by the air, water, animals, plants, 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 69 

and by heat and culd. especially upon freezing and thaw- 
ing. The soil is literally a slowly seething mass of in- 
organic and organic activities most vital and interesting. 

Movement of air in the soil. — Changes in temperature 
of the air and soil and 1)arometric air pressure cause more 
or less movement of air into and out of the soil. Air 
that is colder than the soil will displace the warmer air, 
thus causing the circulation of air into the soil; but air 
warmer than the soil will not so readily displace the 
colder air underground. The air upon flowing into the 
soil carries with it some gaseou.s products other than 
nitrogen and oxygen. Air serves as a medium through 
which the atmospheric gases can slowly diffuse into the 
soil, and through which free gases forming in the soil 
can escape into the atmosphere. 

Movement of air in plants. — Plants as well as animals 
are said to breathe. Animals inhale oxygen and exhale 
carbon dioxide. Plants reversing the process, inhale 
dioxide and exhale oxygen. On the under surfaces of the 
leaves and in other places may be seen, by the aid of a 
microscope, certain small openings called stomata or 
breathing pores. These breathing pores communicate 
with the intercellular spaces of the leaves, forming 
channels through which the air circulates. In the in- 
terior of the leaves are found cells containing a green 
substance called chlorophyll. The air enters through 
these stomata. passes on in between the chlorophyll- 
bearing cells, and by osmosis gets into the cells contain- 
ing chlorophyll. Here the carbon dioxide (COo) of the 
air is broken up through the action of sunlight into car- 
bon and oxygen. The carl:>on cond)ines with the water 
(HoO) that has been taken up b}- the roots of the plant, 
and starch is formed. Thus 6 COo, acted upon by sun- 
light in the chlorophyll bodies, equals 6 C, and 12 O; 
and 5 HoO (5 molecules of water) equals 10 H and 5 O ; 
and when recombined equals CoHjoO.-,, starch, with 12 O 



yo FARM DEVELOPMENT 

to spare. The remaining 12 O. oxygen, liberated from 
the carbon dioxide, is given off, or is sometimes used for 
some purpose within the plant body. 

This process of making starch can only take place 
when the plant is exposed to light. While it is not cer- 
tain that starch is the first product formed in the plant, 
for the present we may consider it so. ^^^e may, there- 
fore, look upon the chlorophyll l)odies as little manufac- 
tories of starch. To decompose carbon dioxide and to 
build up starch out of carbon and water, requires energy. 
This the plant obtains from the sunlight. When the 
animal consumes the ]:)lant, it breaks down these com- 
])Ounds and changes ])art of the carl)on back into carbon 
dioxide and water. The stored-up energy is liberated, 
and is used by the animal for the production of work or 
lieat or for other bodil}' functic^ns requiring energy. 

Animals depend on plants. — Animals cannot combine 
the nourishment in the air and soil for use as food. 
Plants. howe\'er, take the food substances available in 
the air and soil, and by the aid of sunlight build these 
into compounds useful to animals and man. \\'hile only 
a \-ery small j^art of the food of plants is obtained from 
the soil, their growth under ordinary conditions depends 
directly upon the soil. It is necessary to understand the 
needs of the plant and the character of the soil so that 
the land may be handled in the manner best suited to 
the needs of the crop we wish to grow. The soil is a 
medium through which the plant obtains water con- 
taining in solution the mineral and other parts of its food, 
excepting the COo secured from the air. That the soil 
is only a medium, is shown by the fact that plants can 
be grown in pure water, to which is added the necessary 
nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, iron, calcium, etc., 
required by the plant when grown normally. 

Drainage and cultivation accelerate soil aeration. — 
Drainage, especially tile drainage, where the drains are 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION J I 

put in near together in heavy, close soils, accelerates 
the circulation of air in the soil to a considerable degree. 
Drains remove the water, allowing the air more room 
among the particles at a greater depth. \Vhen rain 
causes the surface of the free water, or ground water, in 
the soil to rise, the air is, of course, crowded out of this 
saturated part, but when the surface of the zone saturated 
with water, is again lowered by the drains, the air again 
settles into the interstices among the soil particles. 
Drainage allows the roots of plants to penetrate deeper, 
and these, on decaying, leave deeper holes through which 
the air circulates more freely in dense soils. It also in- 
creases organic matter, bacterial action and plant feeding 
deeper down in the subsoil. 

Plowing and subsoiling give aid to all these forces 
w hicli tend to make air circulate in the soil. In very dry 
weather, clay soils sometimes become so much shrunken 
that large cracks are produced and through these the 
air can circulate in the soil. In the northern states 
freezing does a great deal to prevent the soil from be- 
coming too compact. By the freezing and the resultant 
expanding of the soil, the particles are pushed apart and 
left more open for the following summer season. Veg- 
etable manures make dense soils looser, and open soils 
closer ; in both cases adding to the power of the soil to 
retain water and soluble plant food. 

Soil water and the plant. — The plant secures its min- 
eral and nitrogenous food supply through the water in 
the soil, absorbing it through the membranous surface 
of the new roots and root hairs. These root hairs, which 
are elongations of the outer cells of the new root near 
the growing point, increase the root surface, extend 
thin membranous branches out into contact with the 
soil and enable them to absorb more of the soil moisture 
and secure more food. Only a small part of the water 
taken up by the plant is used in forming new tissue, but 



72 



FARM DEVELOP M EN T 



passes to the leaves from which it is transpired into the 
air. The plant food from the soil is usually in very 
dilute solutions. All the cells are kept charged full of 
water, which holds the soft parts of the plant rigid and 
upright. The water is given ofif through the same open- 
ings in the leaves 
which take in the car- 
bonic acid gas, and on 
warm days the evapo- 
ration of this tran- 
spired moisture helps 
to keep the leaves cool. 
Since the quantity of 
water transpired 
through the leaves 
amounts to from 200 
to 800 pounds for each 
pound of dry matter 
produced by the plant, 
a good crop of grain 
or of forage will 

Figuio ir. Corn accurately drawn from nicas- Cxlialc frOm itS IcaVCS 
urements made in 1886 representing corn (1) at , . ^, 

ten, (2) twenty, (3) thirty and (1) forty days after dUrUlg the SCaSOU SCV- 
planting. The drawing represents a width of 4 , . , - • r ii 

feet 6 inche.s. The whorl of roots ^vU!ch spring eral UlCheS Ot raniiall ", 
from the seed nr seminal whorl, as at 1. and the . rr • 

whorls which arise from the bases of the sheaths that IS, SUfficient WatCr 
of tlie first, second and even the third and fourth 

leaves or blades, strike out through the soil in the 4-0 COVCr the SOll tO thc 
early, cool, moist spring season in a nearly hori- 
zontal direction. Those spruiging from the fourth. rl/ari+Vi nf Cii^\TP-r^\ inrVlPC 
later nodes or joints go nearly UCpill Ui SCVCldl lUCllcs. 




Extent of roots of 



fifth, sixth and lat 

downward, so as to hunt better for water in the 
drier, warmer midsummer. The early and espe- 
cially the later roots springing from the stem— ^__„_ TU a t-/-vf>fc i-if 

stem roots— send out many branches with sub- 1,1 Op5>. 1 UC lUULs ui 

branches reaching evei-y part of the soil. The r 11 „„„ 

roots of corn planted in hills 4 feet apart each OUr helCl CrOpS are 
way. even in the young stage, as at 4. have no , , . 

trouble in reaching all parts of the soil between mUCh lOUgCT, mUCU 

the rows, often overlapping 1 or 2 feet with the '^ 

roots of the adjacent rows. uiorc numcrous, spreaci 

farther, and penetrate into the soil to greater depths 
than is generally realized. On fairly open, easily pene- 
trable soils, where the upper portion of the earth is too 
dry for the plant to obtain sufficient food, roots are sent 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 



71 



downward four to six feet, and in some cases mucb 
deeper. In hnmid regions, however, the greater number 
of fine root branches are found in the first foot or i8 
inches of soil, in wliich are the best conditions for the 
roots to secure food. The depth at which most plants 
prefer to feed, if sufficient water is present, is the lower 
half or two-thirds of the furrow-slice, and that part of 
the subsoil immediately beneath. While the roots which 

go deepest into the 
earth secure some 
food, the chief function 
of the deeper roots is 
to bring up water 
when the supply near 
the surface is deficient. 
These long, deeply 
penetrating roots have 
few branches near the 
tip, while nearer the 
surface of the soil the 
root branches are very 
numerous. The roots 
spread out so as to 

Figure IS. At 6 are shown the stem roots of a 

corn plant nearly ready to tassel out All these rcach the plant food Ul 
roots have their origin in the base of the stem, and ^ 

each one has many branches, as shown at X. Tlie a-ijc^r-iT ■nr\rA^■ r^-nA i^nrrip>f 

dotted lines mark off square feet. The largest ^^Ciy IIUUK d-IiU CUI IlCl 

roots penetrate nearly 4 feet downward, while the „r .i r diVo ^^r^A 

horizontal spread, including the branches, not '-'I ^''^ lUrrOW-SllCC dUU 

shown in 6. is over 6 feet. This drawing was , , i e . r, 

made from a plant, nearly every stem root of which UppcrmOSt layCrS OI inc 
was dug out by means of a small wooden trowel, . ., 

the length, depth and direction of the root being SUDSOlL 
accurately recorded on the drawing. _ 

In Figure i8 is shown 
the root system of a corn plant ready to tassel. The 
branch roots are not represented at 6. They are so 
numerous that it is impossible to show all of them in 
this diagram. The roots there shown are the mere frame- 
work, or main roots, their branches and sub-branches 
being very much more numerous. At "X" is shown one of 
the roots arising from the stem, with its branches. Only 




74 



lAK.M DI'AI'.l.OI'M ICNT 



the outer, recently developed ends of tlie main root are 
active in a])Sorbin,q' water containing;' soluble plant food. 
The older surfaces of the roots are covered with a t(jUL;h 
layer oi harklike cells and tlicsc iiortions of the roots 
ser\'e only to trans[)ort water carrying;' stiluhle ])lant food 
up to the stent, and to hold the i)lant in ])lace. In 
I'ii^'ure T/ arc diai^ranis slidwini^' the roots arising' from 
{he stem, hut nut the branch roots, of corn at about lO, 
20. 30 and 40 days, 
respectively. a f 1 c r 
planting. 

Figure 19 shows the 
general spread of the 
roots of a wdieat i)lant. 
The roots of other 
cereal grains are quite 
similar to those of 
wheat. The roots of 
our tame grasses also 
])enetrate to similar 
■le])ths. ('lo\'er roots go 
a little deeper than the 
roots of the grasses 
and grains, \\hile the 
roots of some ])erenidal 
field crops. like alfalfa, 
under minsnall}' dry 
condit i(">ns. ma\' go to a 
depth of more than 20 
feet. But in all cases 

the ])lants. whether small, or e\en if as large as trees. 
procure most of their food in the furrow-slice and niijier 
layers of subsoil. Since the furrow-slice and the ])art i<\ 
the subsoil just below^ it are the portions of the soil which 
supply to the roots of creeps the most congenial ami 
richest feeclinL;" /one. the aim of the farmer shiudd be to 




vlu.ll 



)!(. Cinun and slrni v.iols i,r a maliuv 

aill. flnlM illlf MTll. 'I'liis i.laiil st I 

aliui, and dcvc-l.i|.rd uvfi' a d-z. ii .iiini-. Tlu'iv 
aiv al«.ut mil sliMM roi'ts. uliifli al.m,' a i c laa,' 
slioun. eacli cf wliit-li liad fm s,inu> di>(anrc on 
an avcra^'O aliniit pislit liiancli mnts In tlir inrli. 
iiiakin;; a wnnderfid mat nf imils in llio snil. 
Xuiiieious idcits iicnetiatfd tn tlic depHi '<\' 4 trri 
and t\ii- spread cif ilir nuii^ ha, I a diaiui'iia nf ninn- 
than ?, fcft. 



'llll': SOIL AND soil. i'OKMATlON 



75 



keep these zones of soil supplied with the proper amount 
of moisture and vegetable matter and to provide for the 
mechanical conditions which best promote the t^rowth 
and 3'ield of crops. Where there is a lack of mineral 
])lant food this also must be supplied. 

Film water and free water. — In order that the relation 
of water to the roots of plants may be better understood, 
the following explanation is here pre- 
sented : Place a pot of soil in a hot oven 
and leave it until nearly all the moisture 
has been dried out. If the oven is kept 
at the boiling point of water a day or 
Figm-e 20. Pot of lOO longer, practicallv all the soil moisture 

pounds of soil from '-' ft> • i 

&orcedrt*bybak- will havc been changed into steam and 
'°^' driven off into the air as vapor, and the 

soil will weigh much less than before. ILxen at the boil- 
ing point of water the soil will so tenaciously hold to the 
last particles of water that a very small amount will re- 
main. We will assume that we ha^"e one Inindred 
pounds of water-free soil in the ]iot. ( Figure 20.) Xow 
place this pot of dried soil in a room between open 
windows where the air can freely pass 
over it, but where no rain can strike 
it. Upon weighing the pot of soil some 
days later we find that it weighs a few 
pounds more than when it was removed 
from the oven. ( Figure 21.) This in- 
crease in weight is due to moisture 
Avhich the soil has al)Sorbed from the T"47s7osXu^"'n^"" 
air. just as ordinary salt will al)sorb 
moisture from the air. The air always contains 
water in the form of gas, often called vapor. If 
we now close the room up tightly and place several 
large kettles of water on a stove and cause them 
U) boil vigorously, the water will " boil away '' and the 
vapor will become an invisible part of the air of the 



Figure 21. I'ol nf haUe.l 
il after staiidaig several 
lys ill tlie air, wlien it 
ighs a few pounds 



76 • FARM DKVRLOPMENT 

room. The soil in the pot will again increase in weight, 
since it will be able to gather more water from this very 
moist air than it had secured from the relatively dry air 
which came through the windows. We will assume that 
the one hundred pounds of fire-dried soil, wdien exposed 
for some days to the outside air, absorbed three pounds 
of water, and that when it was put in the air made very 
moist by the boiling water, it absorbed two pounds more. 
This moisture is held in the soil as a delicate film about 
each soil particle, or within the minutest pores in the 
particles of soil, but is not sufficient to bind the particles 
together as does the larger amounts of capillary moisture 
mentioned below. The finest, driest road dust con- 
tains from one to ten per cent of moisture in this 
form. 

By means of a fountain throwmg a very fine spray on 
the surface of the soil in the pot, a miniature rainstorm 
may now be produced in the room. As the tiny rain- 
drops strike the surface of the air-dry soil, they are 
eagerly seized by the surfaces of the small particles of 
soil. While the soil could not gather and condense any 
more of the vapor from the air and associate it with its 
own particles, the surfaces of soil particles at once show 
a strong attraction for this finely sprayed water, or vapor 
condensed to the liquid form. The water and the sur- 
faces of the soil particles seem to desire the closest 
touch with each other, and, as the water is a mobile fluid, 
it spreads out in thin layers over the attracting surfaces 
of the minute soil particles, enters into the pores within 
the particles, and f^lls the capillary spaces among them. 
Tf one particle has a thicker layer of water on its sur- 
face than its neighbor, the water is soon equalized over 
all. If in traveling from particle to particle the film of 
water finds a pore space or interstice unoccupied, it flows 
into that. As the rain proceeds the particles at the top 
of the soil become surcharged with water. The water- 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 



77 



iI'l'!''i''i'i''l'ilii".'il''i''!'lS 




attracting' power (if the surfaces of the uppermost S(3il 
particles is satisfied, and they allow the layer of particles 
next beneath to draw away the surplus. In this way a 
very gentle rain is taken hold of by the soil particles, 
and is slowly moved or drawn downward h\ what is 
termed the capillary force of the soil. The soil thus 

takes the moisture downward 
in much the same manner as a 
sponge, when placed with its 
lower portion in a small 
amount of water in a saucer, 
absorbs the water upward into 
its own body, though very 
much more slowly. Gravita- 

^^\^\J^\^^^;^^^^l tion. of course, aids the down- 
ed tirsoilTas b^e^sSe'I n^e^' ward capillary movement, and 
half way clown through the mass. slightly retards its upward 

movement, as in the sponge. \A'hen filled, or saturated, to 
its full capacity with capillary water, the lOO pounds of 
original dried, water-free soil, with its added water, 
weighs, perhaps. 145 pounds. In Figure 22 the soil is 
shown to have its capillary 
powers saturated in the upper 
half. 

Crops could not thrive in 
soil as dry as that represented 
in Figure 20 or even that in 
Figure 21, with only hygro- 
scopic water present, but plants 
which thrive in our arable Figure 23- capniaiy poweis of the 

soil satisfied to the bottom of the 

lands have, through the cen- i^"*- 

turies of their development, become accustomed to 
soils with their capillary forces only partly satisfied. 
Soil with its capillary forces fully satisfied with 45 
pounds of water to the hundred pounds of soil, would 
be so wet that corn, and most other crops, would not 




78 



FARM DICVELOPMENT 



llin've SO well as if il contained only 20 to 35 pounds 
i>r water to the hundred pounds. If the rainfall 
continues until no more soil with unsatisfied capillary 
power exists below, the excess of water percolates to 
the bottom of the pot, obe^^ing' the law of gravitation, 
and there fills the larger interstices, 
crowding- out the air. This water is 
called ground water. As the rain con- 
tinues until the ground water has filled 
all the openings in the soil, the sur- 
face of this ground water gradually rises 

Figure 24. Tot of .-^-lil , *= ., . , ° , / 

after rain has fallen on amOUg tllC SOll partlClCS Ul tllC bottOm 
It nntil the capillary "^ ■ 

l',7%atisLi?" ami'^'he ^^ ^hc pot, forclug the air out from 




rainfaii^_continuing^ smoug the soil particlcs. Thus in 
pore space.s '"between" the Figurc 24 the grouud watcr is showH 



particles of soil, displac- 
ing all the air in tl 
lower half of the mass. 



mg ^aii%he'*°a'ir in the to havc filled the lowcr half of the pot, 




while in the upper part the surfaces of 
the particles are covered with what water the capillary 
s])aces and surfaces can hold. This excess of rain, upon 
entering the soil, no longer retarded be- 
cause all capillary force is satisfied, 
simply obeys gravitation, percolates 
vertically downward until it reaches the 
surface of the ground water. In most of 
our more open soils this excess water 
sinks far downward until an imper\'ious 
layer is reached, where it forms the 
ground water shown by the level of 
water in the wells. AA'ith the continu- 
ance of the rainfall, if the spouts A 
and B in the pot be closed, the ground water will rise, 
completely filling the interspaces within the soil. More 
rain will cause the water to stand above the soil as surface 
zvatcr, and to run over the rim of the pot, as in Figure 25. 
If the spout A, Figure 26, be now opened, the surface 
water and the eround water will orraduallv drain out to 



Figure 25. Pot of soil 
after rain has fallen on 
it until the soil pores 
are full of water; the 
lain continuing, .surface 
water has accumulated, 
filling the open space 
in the top of the pot 
and running off over 
I lie rim. 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 




the level of the spout. The soil will still be very moist, 
but, if placed in the dry air of a living room, the drying 
action of the air will soon remove some of this excess 
by evaporating moisture from the surface particles. 
These, in turn, will be given some of the capillary mois- 
ture from the particles next below. Thus there will be 
a slow, upward flow of moisture, sim- 
ilar to the upward movement of oil in 
a lamp wick, or to the upward move- 
ment of water into which the lower 
part of a sponge is inserted. If the 
ground water is sufficiently near the 
surface, it will be a source of moisture, 

Figure 26. Pot of soil . . , , ., . ,, ' 

after drain, A has been kcepuig tllC SOll and SUbsOll partially 
opened and all of the tr o r j 

^:C\lTav'^Laou^"'' saturated with capillary water, thus 
providing the crops with a constant 
supply of water. In Figure 26 the water in the bottom 
of the pot not drained out, because the drain at B re- 
mains closed, will be a permanent source of capillary 
water to the upper soil, to renew that taken up by 
evaporation from the surface of the soil 
into the air above, or that absorbed by 
plant roots growing throughout the 
upper portion of the soil. The air 
within the soil is kept very moist by the 
evaporation which takes place from the 
many moist surfaces. This watery 
vapor in the soil air diffuses outwardly 
into the atmosphere above, aided some- 
what by the slight circulation of air into 
and out of the soil, thus causing some loss of moisture 
which does not pass off through the plant. These losses 
will gradually use up all the ground water held below the 
upper drain, Figure 26. and leave the soil with onh' 
capillary water, as in Figure 27. The soil filled only with 
capillary water, as in Figure 27, is also gradually dried 




l''igiire 27. Tot of sat- 
urated soil after tlic 
water below A has been 
drawn upward to sup- 
ply that giadually evap- 
orated from tlie surface, 
leaving only capillary 
water in the soil. 



^T"fl5 ^ 



80 F.\R^r DEVELOPMENT 

out by the air, if left in a dry room, so that only hygro- 
scopic moisture remains. If the pot is again placed in 
an oven which is kept at or above the boiling point of 
water, the soil will be again reduced to the water-free 
state, as in Figure 28. 

Figure 29 illustrates the fact that the capillary force 
carries water in all directions in the soil. A funnel tube 
is used to carry water slowly to the center of the mass 
of earth made air-dry, as in Figure 28. The particles 
immediately surrounding the point of 
the tube are saturated with the water. 
This water clings to the surfaces of the 
particles and spreads out in thin films 
B over surrounding particles. The attrac- 
KiKure 28 r..t .,f snii tiou of thc ucighboring soil particles 

from which the capillary o o i- 

moisture has been dried causcs thcse iilms to Stream outward 

out by ex'iosing it for 

follower"' by" "feverai toward drier particles where the capil- 
ovfn "ilfficientl^ hot 'to larv forccs are less satisfied. Thus the 

turn all moistiue to • , j i • j • 

steam, and thus driving uioisture movcs upward and sidewise 

it out leave the soil dry , ... , ,.,., 

of water, water free, ncarlv as rapidlv as downward, m which 

dry substance." as . ' . , •" . 

when pot 1. Figure 20 dircctiou gravitatiou helps to move it, 

nf baked soil was first '^ '^ ' 

placed in the air. Avhilc sHghtly retarding the flow over 

surfaces in other directions, especially its upward move- 
ment. 

The soil acts like a sponge. — In regions of light rainfall 
most soils, instead of having this underground supply of 
water stored up to be given out gradually, are generally 
not very moist at a depth of several feet. The rain which 
falls upon the soil, in part runs off over the surface, es- 
pecially if it be hard or if the land be hilly. That which 
is drawn in by the capillary force or sinks in by gravita- 
tion, is taken up and held as capillary water, or is added 
to the ground water. A light rain is carried downward a 
short distance only, while a heavier rain will go corre- 
spondingly deeper. Continuous rainfall for a number of 
hours is necessary, to penetrate to the depth of several 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 



8i 



feet and to satisfy entirely the capillary force of a 
dry soil. 

In case sufficient rain falls to penetrate to only a few 
inches, the moist surface soil soon begins to give up its 
moisture in two directions. The moister particles give 
up their water to the drier soil particles beneath, as was 
described above, and as soon as the sun warms and dries 
the air at the surface, moisture is there evaporated, and 
there is a consequent movement of 
water within the moist upper zone or 
layer of soil toward the sun-dried sur- 
face particles. These movements will 
both continue for a time, but soon the 
zone of moist soil, will have given up pig^^.^ j,, p,„ „f „;,.. 
sufficient water so that it is no moister 5!?gripr'"'""a't h'^ 
than the subsoil below, and the down- 
ward movement will cease. But since 
the sun and wind are in almost daily from ."le, p"!"' ,pf ' 

•' tune in all directions 

action in summer in e^'aporating ^vater {;favi"r''oa"!ses"'f 'sUgV, 
from the surface of the soil, there is a 'Z^il^^L'l^ 
movement of capillary moisture upward 




groseopic 
Through the funnel 
tube water is slowly 
run into the center of 
the mass of soil. The 
water i.s carried away 
he 
hy 



dhections. But capil- 
larity, being much the 
1 11 >i .• T\ 1 r,i- more powerful acting 

nearJv all the time. Fart of this mOV- force under these con- 
ditions, causes the water 
to go upward and .side- 
wise as well as down- 



ing" mass of water is intercepted, in its 
slow upward flow, by plants, which take ^'a''^- 
it into their roots, pass it to the leaves and there tran- 
spire it into the atmosphere. 

Water-holding power varies with different soils. — 
Some soils retain much more hygroscopic moisture 
when air-dried than others, some soils will hold a much 
larger amount of capillary moisture than others, and 
soils vary greatly in the amount of water which can flow 
into their interstices as ground water. Thus a hundred 
pounds of soil containing clay or vegetable matter, when 
drenched with water, will cling to, and prevent from 
running out of. its body much more water than will a 
sandy soil. In soils which are so constituted as to hold 



82 



FARM DKVELOPMENT 



much water, plants can better endure either periods of 
drouth or an excessive rainfall. Vegetable manures 
added to soils, green crops plowed under, or the roots of 
l)lants in the soil, soon decay, and while decaying these 
substances aid the soil in retaining capillary moisture. 

Capillarity illustrated. — The word capillarity has such 
an important use and meaning that an explanation is 
necessary. It is derived from the 
Latin word cap ill us, meaning a hair. 

In Figure 30 are shown several 
very small glass tubes with their ends 
dipped in water. It will be observed 
Figure :io. Showing iio>v that thc watcr rises inside the tubes. 

water rises in small capil- , , . . , , - 

lary tubes. It rises iiigiier 1 he watcr and the uiside surface of 

ill the smaller tubes tliau 

in the larger ones. the glass havc an affinity for each 

other sufficient to draw the fluid up into the tubes. The 
fact that this action of water in very minute hairlike 
tubes was the first clearly observed case 
in which water attached to and crept 
over surfaces and through small open- 
ings is probably the reason that the 
name capillary action was gi\-en to this 
movement of water in the soil. It will 




be observed in the illustration that the ^^ 

water rises higher in the smaller tubes Figure si. when two 

,. . . , ^ rT^, r plates of glass, placed 

than m the larger ones. Ihe force ex- so as to touch at one 

. ^ , edge and Vs inch apart 

erted is the attraction of the water and jt the other edge, have 

their ends placed in 

the inner surface of the glass for each Zv'\^l^^een''^'^hem''^lt 
other. In the small tubes the surface r;'!:;::,'M.fsing''h&*on 

f „i -1 • ^- j_ ^^ the side where the two 

ot glass IS larger m proportion to the uiates are closest to- 
load of water than in the tubes where 
the column of water has a greater diameter. The action 
of this force is further illustrated in Figure 31, showing 
that it is not the form of the tube, but the attraction of 
the surfaces of the glass, which carries the water up- 
ward. The attraction of the water for the surfaces is 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 



83 



called adhesion. 'J'he particles of fine clay being several 
hundred times smaller than the particles of coarse sand, 
there is presented to the water a very much larger total 
area of surfaces in a given bulk of clay soil than in sand ; 
and, therefore, the total area of the surface films is much 
greater. In case of a soil filled with ground water, as in 
Figure 26, where the drain is opened, the movement is 
downward in response to gravitation. When all this 
hydrostatic or ground water has 
l)een drained out, leaving the soil 
with its capillary power all satis- 
fied, the films covering the par- 
ticles are relatively thick. As the 
soil dries out from evaporation 
and through removal by the roots 
i)f plants, this film becomes 
thinner, until only the hygro- 
scopic water — that which the air 
cannot take away — remains. 

II \ When the films are thick, the 
I \ capillary water moves rather 

freely toward a point where a 
root is exhausting the supply ; 
while, where the film is thin, there 
are many more openings, or 
spaces, in the soil, and the moA^e- 
ment of water is much retarded 
by the friction in the thin films. 
The movement of water and 
plant food toward the growing roots of plants, however, 
is not so rapid as many suppose. 

Other facts concerning this interesting force are shown 
in Figures 32 and 33. A new lamp wick, Figure 32, is 
attached to an old one, which has become too short to 
reach the oil, but the threads connecting the two ends 
are not drawn tightly, leaving the two ends slightly 




Figure '•'•'■i. Tlif new uick in Uie 
bottom of tlie lamp is attaclied to 
tlie old «iol; by tlireacls wlilcli do 
not draw tlie two wick ends ciujte 
together. The oil in rising liy 
nipillarity tlirough tlie wick is uu- 
al)le tn pass tliis opening where 
tlie capillary connections are sepa- 
rated. 



84 



FARM 1)I':\'KI.()I'.MI':NT 




SltU- 
H.lttl 

sup- 
lillavy \\ 
upper 

by tlie water rising frnin 
the supply nf gror.uj 
water. At C. a layer of 
('(larse straw is repre- 
sented as liaving bcon 

the fur- 



apart, and the interstices among" the threads between 
the two w ick's being t<Hi hirgc In |(inn capiUarx- spaces. 
little or no oil rises to the flame. In Figure 33, at a 
(Ic])tli dl" se\eral feet. A. ihci'c is ground water; at l'>. the 
soil is well supplied with ca])illary water; at L'. as is 
often the case in very dry sections <^f 
the country, a layer of coarse straw, ly- 
ing" up dry and loose, is jdowed under 
llie moisture cannot pass 1)\- ca])illai\ 
niovement upward throug"h the layer 
( '. lo moisten the furrow -slice. 1), and 

I uuie o vdiI 

the " moisture line," or the zone of at'^'th""lxmum''"A 
capillary moisture, rises only to C; l^'lrll}.i^'1l£irt 
thus shutting oft the seeds from ob- 
taining" water from D, just as the oil 
fails to rise to the flanie in the lamp plowed "unde 

' row-shce. 1>. 

in l-'igure 32. The layer of coarse straw 
makes a niulch of the entire ftu'row-slice, protecting the 
moisture l;elow from rising and wasting" l>y eva])ora- 

tion, which causes 
injm-y 1)}' forcing the 
roots ()f the ])lants to 
feed only in the sub- 
soil. In most coun- 
tries there is sufficient 
moisture so that a 
layer of dry straw soon 
decays and no longer 
acts as a barrier be- 
tween the subsoil and 
the furrow-slice. The 
stronger capillary 
power of the decaying 
plant substance, on the other hand, secures and holds 
within itself larger aniomits of water, and thus both 
water and plant food are most liberall}' supplied to the 




Figure "4. E. subsoil. D, furrow-slioe willi 
lUist blaiiktt ^il surface shown darlier. Upper 
surface (if capillary water here rises through the 
lower half or two-thirds of the furrow-slice. F. 
to the bottom of the dust blanket. C. 



THE SOIL AND SOIL FORMATION 



85 



yfi'^i 


S^^5t 


>w_ 




^^'»-;.--.;- 


""'';;'* 


<mTr^ 


="'"^'^T-T33a. 


/ 








0:, :■- „ 






.--'^?j?i 


M-'-'-^^''"'"' 






-■'!|l 


xyM^'l^^^^ ..--- 








m^ ^,^'^^''y V 






-■4m 


■' ^^' '-- '■'.■,■. • -■' : 






' ' , ■ - 'tV'^^^^ 


^^., ■ ■ ': ;.■■..' " 









roots and the plant feeds in tlie upper soil zone which con- 
tains the most plant food. Where the recently plowed fur- 
row-slice is very porous and loose, it also acts as a mulch 
to retard the upward llow of moisture by capillarity. 

Dust blanket and dirt mulch. — The use of a dirt mulch 
or dust blanket is illustrated in Figure 34. Here the 
furrow-slice. D, rests upon the subsoil. E, with which it 
is in intimate contact, so that the capillary water may 

rise into it. To pre- 
vent the water from 
rising entirel}^ to the 
surface, there by the 
aid of the svm's heat to 
be evaporated into the 
atmosphere, the upper 
zone of soil, C, is kept 
broken up and made 
too mellow and open 
for the water to rise 
through it by the force 
of capillarity. The 
moisture line here is at 
the bottom of C. thus bringing the moisture zone up so 
as to include the lower two-thirds. I-", of the furrow-slice 
D, and allow the roots of crops to feed in this portion 
of soil, which is not only the richest iti plant food, but is 
the most congenial for the roots of plants and for their 
little helpers, the soil bacteria. 

The general movements of water in the earth. — The 
surface of the water in our wells shows that the ground 
water does not actually rise near the surface. The 
upper part of the earth acts as a storage sponge, and 
gets its supply of water annually from the rainfall, ex- 
cepting cases where irrigation is practiced, or in rare 
cases where water seeps out of hillsides and forms moist, 
springlike areas, or flows along porous layers under- 



Figure 35. SIiows a pervious mass over a 
layer of impervious clay or stone. B. Water falling 
i-n the upland at D, sinlcs down to the im- 
pervious layer of clay and seeps forward until 
tlie liillside is readied, and there flows out. re- 
sulting in a seepy liillside, as at K, or possib y 
fonnhig a definite spring. 



86 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



neath level tracts, there serving as natural sub-irrigat- 
ing waters to be drawn upward by capillarity, or to be 
reached direct 1\v the roots of plants. Porous earth, as 
at D, Figure 35. allows part (if the rainfall to sink deeply. 
This upon reaching a porous laxer, as gravel. P), lying 
upon impervious clay or rock, seeps sidewise, reaching 
the surface at a lower level, K. Here it may flow out 
as a spring, or simply seep slowly out. and result in keep- 
ing the hillside moist, or it may flow down through the 
open soil in the \alley and keep that moist,. or it may 
flow into an oi)cn water-bearing stratum with impervious 
clay or rock both above and below, and lie there with very 
little movement. In such cases this water is often sub- 
jected to great pressure, because the head of water above, 
as at B, Figure 36. 

is high. A well sunk : ,,c:^^^^A^ 

into such a vein of 
water under ])ressure, 
makes an o p e n i n g 
through which artesian 
water rises to, or 
al)o\e, the surface of 
the earth, or oftener 
onh- a short distance 
in the well. 

Tn regions where the 
rainfall is not ample, 

, - , . 1 1 J point is sufJicieiil tn force the water to rise to n 

the lUrrOW-SllCe SnOUlCl lielslit somewhat less than the height of tlic water 
,, in tlie region wliere it enters tlie soil. 

l)e kept as mellow as 

])racticable so as to give easy access to rain water, that 
none may be lost by flowing off over the surface. An 
open, loose furrow-slice, fotu' or more inches thick, in a 
climate with too little rainfall and wnth dry, hot atmos- 
phere and drying winds, does nmch to retard the loss 
of moisture from the soil l)y evaporation. The moisture 
line, under such conditions, rises onlv to the bottom of 




1 ir.nK I Ml us lio« witer confined hetueeii 
uiiiMnKins sti it I IS in A between B and C is 
siiluiteil to picssnie nnl\ni„' it possilile to sernie 
fliuint, Metis IS it I) Tlie witei of i uns siiikin„ 
11! Ihe pimoiis eiith to the right of \ flons Ix 
tuitn the impenioiis Ineis Tlie piessure it iin 



THE SOIL A.XD SOIL FORMATION 8/ 

the furrow-slice and the roots of crops must feed in the 
subsoil, not being able to get food from the dry, porous 
furrow-slice. For this reason spring plowing for spring- 
sown grains in dry regions sometimes serves as a more 
open, more efBcient dust blanket than the more compact 
fall-plowed furrow-slice, and thus sometimes enables the 
farmer to produce better crops than autumn plowing, 
which is ordinarily the better practice in humid regions. 
The stubble standing on the land over winter in a windy 
country often holds snow which, upon melting, largely 
enters the soil, leaving it more moist in the spring than 
would be the wind-swept fall-plowed land. The looser 
spring-plowed furrow-slice, then, better conserves water 
from melting snows and from spring rains. 

On the other hand, the loose furrow-slice afifords very 
poor conditions for seeds to germinate, and, under most 
conditions, the better results come from having the 
lowei part of the furrow-slice compact and the upper 
part kept open by cultivation to serve as the blanket of 
loose earth, or dirt mulch, to retard evaporation. Under 
very dry conditions the deep, loose furrow-slice is so open 
and dry that seeds will not germinate; and a heavy rain 
is required to make the furrow-slice sufficiently moist to 
provide the necessary moisture to start the seeds. A still 
heavier rain is required in order that moisture may pene- 
trate to the solid earth below the furrow-slice, there to 
become a part of the stored-up water of the subsoil. 

The moldboard or disk plow inverts and pulverizes 
the soil, and mixes into it such stubble and weeds as 
may have grown, and such manure or other fertilizers 
as may ha\e been a]:)p]ied to it. The weight of the 
earth, the action of Avater, l)acteria and other agencies 
which encourage decay, bring the coarse vegetable mat- 
ter and the lower part of the furrow-slice into a compact 
mass closely adhering to the subsoil. The cultivating 
implement again loosens the upper part of the furrow- 



88 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

slice in the preparation for planting, and keeps it loose 
and open during the cultivation of crops planted in rows 
for intertillage. Both plowing and tillage have other 
functions, than so controlling the water as to provide 
the optimum amount of film water best for the plants. 
Crops thrive with an amount of water somewhat less 
than that required to entirely satisfy the force of capil- 
larity, and can adjust themselves to some range of 
moisture content between saturation of capillarity and 
such a low amount of water that they cannot get all 
they need, and wither, and are stunted in their growth. 
In drouthy regions, the application of water and the con- 
servation of soil water are often the controlling factors 
in crop production. 



CHAPTER VT 
THE SELECTION OF A FARM HOME 

The selection of a farm for a permanent family home 
is a matter of great importance. Here most of the life 
is to be spent ; and upon the quality, character and loca- 
tion of the farm largely depends the success and the 
happiness of each and every member of the family. Its 
importance as a place for developing the home, bringing 
up a family, enjoying family ties, entertaining friends, 
and working out life's success, can hardly be over- 
estimated. If its location is unsuitable, its soil poor or 
difficult to subdue, or if it be otherwise poorly adapted 
to the particular needs of the family, there may be life- 
long regret at the choice. It is highly important to the 
farm family to feel that it is permanently located, and 
that whatever is done to build up the place is done with 
a view to its permanent usefulness as the foundation of 
a happy and prosperous home, for generations, of a 
strong, prosperous family. 

The farm the foundation of the business. — Each farmer 
should choose a farm suited to the kind of farming he 
desires to follow. It is far better to spend some time 
looking about, so as to be fully suited, than to take a 
farm that is easily obtainable, but not just adapted to 
the kind of farming to be done. A fruit farm too far 
away from market, a sheep farm on too low land, or a 
grain farm in a sandy, wooded country, would be an 
unfortunate choice. In such regions as the great prairies 
of the upper IMississippi valley, one can easily find lands 
suited to general farming, that is. to the production of 
grain, forage crojxs and live stock in combination. But 
if one wishes to do vegetable gardening, he should avoid 



90 FARM DEVELUL'MliNT 

ihe heavy lands and .secure a soil sonu'wliat lighter. On 
the other hand, it is iiftcn necessary to adapt the Ijusi- 
ness to the farm which it is practicable to secure. 

Producing capacity. — Generally the producing capacity 
of the soil is of the greatest importance. The lands of 
the western states are rising in value and in price from 
decade to decade. Lands with large native fertility will 
generally rise in value more rapidly than will the more 
sandy lands, or lands which for other reasons are not 
especially productive. No one Qxer hears of farms on 
mixed black prairie soils of the west being abandoned, 
as are sometimes the farms of hilly New England, or 
the sandier lands of the pine regions, or the dronthy 
lands of the Great Plains area. The soil surveys of the 
United States Department of Agriculture and of some 
state bureaus Avill be great aids in selecting the regions 
to investigate for good soils and desirable farms. 

Ability to withstand drouth. — Drouth resistance is an- 
other important quality, especially to soils in. or border- 
ing on, the great semi-arid regions. Here it is not so 
much a question of fertility, as of soil moisture. Farm- 
ing on dronthy, sandy or gravelly soil is more specula- 
tive ; one year the crop may be satisfactory, but another 
year the crop is ruined by the drouth. Generally, sandy 
lands sell for more than they are worth, while the re- 
\'erse is true of the stronger lands. Far to the north, 
heavy lands are at a disadvantage because they are 
too cold. 

Healthfulness. — Tn choosing a locality in which to pur- 
chase a farm, a healthful climate is of importance, as 
such a climate is necessary to develop strong, useful and 
happy people. Many sections once unhealthful, as 
large parts of Indiana and Illinois, have been made 
healthful by drainage, and many regions needing drain- 
age will, ere long, be so completely drained as to be free 
from malarial diseasies. Sufficient and evenlv dis- 



Till-: sy:LRC'ri()\ of a farm home 91 

(rihtitcd rainfall is of ijrime importance. Irrigation can 
be resorted to in sonic districts, and, where there is an 
abundance of water, fanning' under this jilan is e\en 
more satisfactory than where the dependence is upon 
rain. In irrigation the water can l)e supplied when 
needed, and there is usually no rain to iuterfere when 
crops are being cured. Often farms needing drainage 
or irrigation, can be purchased, and drained or irrigated 
with great profit by those who know how to make these 
improvements. 

Proximity to markets and large cities is a very great 
ad\antage. One cannot forecast how the farming busi- 
ness may develop, and, in any event, nearness to com- 
l)etitive markets is of great importance to the farmer. 
Large cities provide many advantages which cannot be 
enjoyed by those wdio live far from the great centers of 
])opulation. Higher prices can be paid for lands near 
large cities. Xot onh' is the cost of freight less on the 
])roducts to be sold or purchased, but advantages may 
be taken of city opportunities of many kinds, if the trip 
by steam, or trolley, or team be not too long. It is also 
a great advantage to farmers to come frequently into 
contact with the bustling life of cities. 

Character of neighbors. — It pays the home seeker to 
consider carefully the class of neighbors surrounding 
the farm he contemplates selecting. People generally 
do as those about them show that they expect them to 
do. The farmer and his children are more likely to be 
altruistic, l()\able, honorable, industrious, businesslike, 
enterprising and thoroughly up to date if they live 
among neighbors who are congenial, upright, industrious, 
thrifty and up with the times. Life is not all the " rais- 
mg of corn, to raise more hogs, to 1)U}- more land, to raise 
more corn," etc.; the enjoyment of social and public 
life, as well as the enjoyment of home and family, are 
considerations of the very highest importance. It is very 



92 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

rlesirahle that the neighbors with wlioni one must asso- 
ciate, exchange views and confidences, and with whom 
the children of the family must associate in school, in 
church, and in social functions, should be somewhat sim- 
ilar in tastes and habits and withal honorable and agree- 
able. ]\rany a farmer has become backward and even 
morose because of a lack of social life. 

Children in rural homes learn how to do with things 
better than they learn how to think about things. They 
need to go to school and be taught to think about things 
around them, but, quite as important, they need to learn 
how to think about people and to do with people. Rural 
youths can nearly as well afiford to fail to learn books as 
to be deprived of contact with their playfellows at school 
and with the people they meet at church or at other 
gatherings, as in the farm home or in the village. Prox- 
imity to good schools and churches, and nearness to tow'n 
centers, arc all of large value in making up a decision as 
to where to select a farm. 

Care in judging the value of soils. — Tn inspecting the 
soil itself, it is easy to determine wdiether a soil is clayey, 
sandy, gra\ell}' : or, if a mixed soil, whether it is the 
happy medium, or golden mean, made up of nearly equal 
parts of sand and clay. The texture of the surface soil 
when wet. and also when dry, should be observed. The 
heaviness or ease of tillage operations should be taken 
into consideration. Other factors to be taken into ac- 
count are whether the land is level or hilly, whether 
there arc many stones to be removed ; and often the 
number, size and kind of stumps, must be considered. 

The butter dealer will inspect every jar of butter with 
his butter trier, or, at least, a sample of every lot, but the 
farmer too often looks only at the surface soil. With the 
aid of a common spade or with a post-hole digger, the 
subsoil to the depth of three or more feet may easily be ob- 
served ; and since one can in this wav make the best anal- 



THE SELECTION OF A FARM IIO^[E 93 

ysis of llio soil and subsoil, it should never be ne.^iected. 
In many cases upturned stumps show tlie quality of the 
subsoil, and burrowing animals may have brought to the 
surface the deeper earth. The experienced land judge 
has many ways in which to determine the quality of the 
soil. The person who will make an earnest efifort can 
find many wa3^s of judging the fertility, the water-holding 
power, and the w^earing ability of a soil. Growing crops 
tell their story, though the kind of season must be taken 
into consideration. Sandy lands may have large crops 
during a moist year, partly because drouth for a few 
previous seasons may have so prevented the growth of 
crops that there are unusually favorable conditions for 
plant growth, resulting in an exceptionally large crop. 
The testimony of residents on adjoining lands is of the 
greatest value, especially if the home seeker knows how 
to draw^ out and weigh information. 

One need not depend upon the appearance of the cul- 
tivated grasses and clovers alone, but can find out much 
about the soil by the native plants. Land which pro- 
duces a thick crop of large weeds, either native or intro- 
duced, gives evidence of strength and crop-producing 
power. In timber sections trees are much used as an 
index to the character of the soil. Thus, in the North, 
jack pine grows on very sandy land, Norway pine on 
land usually not quite so sandy, white pine on still 
stronger sandy loam and on mixed soils. 

Some kinds of oak, in a given region, will be found to 
grow on sandy land, other kinds only on strong soil of 
mixed sand and clay. Sugar maples and some other 
deciduous trees grow only on the strong mixed soils. 
Where soil surveys have been made by the Bureau of 
Soils of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
or by a state department or experiment station, the soil 
maps showing the areas of soils rf different classes will 
be found valuable aids in selecting a farm. 



94 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

Special and .^'CMieral considerations are often wortln" 
of attention. A ])erennial spring of water near the 
l)arns or near the dwelling- lias valne. The ease 
or difificnlty of getting" well water should be noted, also 
the quality of the water. The possibility of using irriga- 
tion water often modifies the desirability of the land. 
Not onl_v in the Plains Region, but even east of the 
Mississii)])i ri\er, waters for irrigation will no doubt 
sometime be highh^ valued. In a new section of coun- 
try, free pasturage of commons which are likely to re- 
main open to the public for a IcMig series of years, may 
have considerable value in connection with the farm to 
be bought. 

The purchase and building u]) of a farm is such a seri- 
ous life matter that the farmer should look the entire 
situation over beforehand with a view to locating build- 
ings, developing the fields, etc. It is very desirable to 
have land suitable for evolving a highly organized farm. 
.\ place is needed for buildings where there is good 
drainage, opportunity to protect from cold Avinds by 
means of a grove, land for garden, orchard, lawn and 
stock paddocks. This location should be so situated as to 
be readily accessible, by means of lanes and cartways, to 
all the fields of the farm. The cost and ease of develop- 
ment, including the cost of clearing, breaking, draining, 
laying out fences and developing the fields of the farm, 
are all matters which should be carefully considered at 
the time the choice is being made among the dififerent 
farms under consideration. 

Hunt for a bargain. — It pays to hunt for a bargain. 
Occasionally farms are offered much below their normal 
or intrinsic values, but the effort to make a profit on the 
purchase price should not be carried so far as to settle 
on land which is not suitable for the kind of farming to 
be entered upon, or is otherwise very unsatisfactory as a 
permanent home for the family. .\o other part of the 



THE SELECTION OF A FARM HOME 95 

fanner's rcMinineralion has tlic lii^li \-aluc of the 
Iiappy home life. W c may imt l()()k loo much al 
money getting, but we certainly do not look enough at 
home making. The farm home is a little world in itself. 
Its sunshine, its joy, its influence in |)roducing strong 
happy people, its potentiality of national strength, its 
power in conserving morals, its opportunities for man's 
communion with nature and nature's God, combine to 
make it important. We should choose the farm home 
wisely, that we may there express our lives in doing 
what we can for ourselves, our families and our country. 



CHAPTER \1I 
PLANNING THE FARM 

General foundation plans for the farm are next in im- 
portance to the selection of the farm. It should be so 
laid out and improved as to make a highly organized 
structure, even though many years must elapse before 
its completion. One has an opportunity, in opening a 
new farm, for making a grand monument to his skill or 
a discreditable showing" of his lack of foresight and 
ability. In assuming the management of an old farm, 
one can often make changes which will materially 
increase the comforts, facilitate the daily work, enlarge 
the profits, stimulate the pride and build up the character 
of the owner and his family. 

Organization of the farm business. — The farm may be 
looked u])on as an organized structure. The windbreaks, 
public roads, outside line fences, and the inside road 
and field fences make up, as it were, a skeleton or frame- 
work. The buildings, fields and }'ards are the active 
organs and the lanes serve as arteries. The main por- 
tions of the farm are the farmstead" containing, so to 
speak, the head and heart ; the fields, acting as stomach 
and lungs; and the lanes, serving as circulatory organs. 

In the mifldle northwestern states, and in most other 
parts of the country, whatever may be the present lines 
of farming chosen, the foundation plan should be such 
that stock raising may easily be taken up at once or in 
the near future, possibly by future owners. This means 
that in placing the windbreak, the dwelling and other 

*T'm> name farmstead is here used to mean that portion of tlie 
fum .separate from the fields, chosen for the location of the build- 
inss. yard", garden, orc'iard, etc.. and often In part surrounded with 
a grrove left when clearing, or planted to serve as a windbrealx. 



PLANNING THE FARM 97 

improvements, space should be allotted in a suitable loca- 
tion for buildings and yards for the stock and for build- 
ings for the storage of feedstuffs. 

The general plan should be so made that the stock 
barns and yards may be directly connected b}^ lanes with 
the various fields of the farm. If stock farming or 
mixed farming is not to be at once entered upon, the 
ultimate plan need not at first be wholly developed. 
Specialized forms of farm management need the farm- 
stead and fields arranged to suit specific purposes. jNIost 
farmers, however, are devoted to general farming, with 
which are dovetailed the production of crops to be sold 
for money, of forage and grain to be fed to stock, of 
animals which are reared for sale or for use on the farm 
for work, for the dairy, or fur meat or wool products. 
Poultry and crops raised for family use, as garden and 
fruit, are also important products of nearly all well- 
regulated farms, whether highly specialized or cptite 
general in the nature of crops produced for the market, 
and space in suitable locations should be given them. 

In planning a farm the entire business, including the 
lines of production, should be decided upon. In only 
rare cases is it well to limit the production of marketable 
products to a single line. On the other hand, it is un- 
wise to attempt too many lines. Two to four main lines 
are usually more profitable than one or many. The ad- 
vantage of having a few lines rather than one are numer- 
ous. The available labor can be more economically 
used, as one crop will need attention at one season of 
the year, and another at a ditTerent time. Live stock 
n^quire most labor in the winter, when other farm enter- 
prises demand least, and thus aid in economically utiliz- 
ing labor the }'ear round. 

A combination of specialties mav be selected which 
will thus furnish labor profitable employment at all sea- 
sons of the vear. A few lines can be so mastered that 



98 I'AK.M ]ii:\'l':i.()l'.MENT 

the farmer can become a s])ecia]ist in each, thus enabUnq' 
liim to pursue those lines at an ach'antage over persons 
who are less expert. It i)ays the farmer to equip himself 
thorou.ei'hly with modern a])]iliances and materials in the 
few enterprises in which he risks his success, and to 
make a thoroui^h stud}' aloni^- those lines. There is not 
only more certainty ol success, hut more satisfaction, to 
the man wIkt tries to know his lines of work more thor- 
oughly than anyone else. ( )ne si)ecialty necessitates 
" carryin,"^ all the e.q'.q's in one basket,"' and should prices 
be low, the season imfa\-oral)le, or should other mis- 
lortunes befall this one industry, the loss is felt mi>st 
keenly. 

There arc few single lines of farm jiroduction which 
may be so managed as ])rofitabl}' t(^ utilize labor steadily 
throu,qh(^ut the year. On the other hand, too many lines 
result in the business beiui^' so indefinite and ]>oorly 
arrani;ed, that none of the numerous lines may be 
studied and followed up aiul by }ears of accumulated 
experience and e(|uipment made a success ecpial to the 
best. The management of labor cannot be systematized, 
as there are liable to be too maii\' thing's to be done at 
once. Too main' ircms iii the tire restdt in some beinci;' 
burned, and. while ^iN'int;' a tew sa\in;.i' blows at those 
that are suffering-, the most im])ortant itrojects are not 
])ressed forward to a profitable completion. 

The business plan should be stable. — L'han^im;' fr<^ni 
one line of farmin.q" to another, with temi>orary chan,2;'es 
in ])rices or ])r(>fits. is most unwise. Steadiness of pur- 
l>ose. determination to stand b_\' the shi]). is a (|uality 
as necessary to success in farniint;" as in other Imsiness 
affairs. l')ui-in.q" e\'ery }ear in which a ,<.j'i\en line of ]')ro- 
duction is ])ursued. there is some experience g'ained, and 
usually the farm e(|uipment for this particular enter- 
])rise i^rows. Much is lost both by abandouin;^" the prep- 
aration matle to carry on the old line and in gathering 



PLANNING THE lAlOl 99 

together tlie knowledge and the materials necessary to 
inaugurate the new. 

If one has a few principal lines, he may cater some- 
what to .prices in choosing the relative energy and time 
to devote each year to the res])ective lines of production. 
Prices depend so much on imforeseen conditions that, at 
hest, something must l)e left to chance. There are, how- 
ever, a few sim])le rules \\hich are worthy of recognition. 
When the juuce of a product is abnormally low, it is a 
far better time to get ready for producing more of it 
than when prices are high. One extreme follows another 
in the prices of staple farm products which can easily 
be produced. Thus high prices for pork usually alter- 
nate every several years with low prices. High prices 
for horses, in like manner, are sure to follow low prices. 
The length of the periods of change require a longer 
time with horses than with hogs, because horses will not 
reproduce in large numbers at so rapid a rate as hogs, 
and each animal requires several times as long to reach 
maturity. \\'hen prices are very high is usually not the 
best time to ])urchase foundation stock for new herds, 
because high ]irices are sure to fall. Low prices are 
nearly alvva}-s followed by higher prices in agricultural 
products. 

Dy kee])ing posted in the lines of production, the 
farmer can sometimes foresee that there are evidences of 
a coming strong demand for certain products and a slow 
demand for other products. One acquainted with the 
wonderful development of cattle ranches during the 
decades 1870 to i8go could not fail to see that the supply 
of beef in this country was increasing more rapidly than 
the demand, a condition which always results in falling 
prices. ( )n the other hand, the fact that prices of beef ad- 
vanced, rather than fell oiT, during the financial panic, fol- 
lowing 1893, 'when the people had less money with which 
to purchase meats, could be taken by the farmer, at the 



loo FARM DEVKf.OP.MENT 

end of the ]';ir.ic. as an assurance \\\il the supply was no 
longer increasing more rapidly than the demand, and 
that tlic supply of cheaply raised ranch beef, as coni- 
])arcd with the growing demand, had reached its climax, 
and that beef raising would be more remunerative. 
These illustrations are given, not to show that these 
industries may now be remunerative, but rather to illus- 
trate a principle and to show the advantage of studying 
in a broad way those factors which modify supply and 
demand and thus cause irregular fluctuations in prices. 
Some farmers who have an abundance of the product 
which may be in special demand, succeed partly because 
they look ahead and antici]')ate liii^h prices. 

Enterprise brings success. — The farmer has abinidant 
()piK)rtunities for the exercise of ihe spirit of enterprise. 
If all his neighbors have poor hogs, the most profitable 
line of production he can enter upon may be the pro- 
duction of pure-bred animals to sell for breeding pur- 
poses. To make a success of this, he must carry out his 
business in a somewhat different way from that which 
might succeed in simply raising fat porkers for the mar- 
ket. He must secure superior breeding animals and rear 
their young in the most improved manner. He must 
create a market for his pigs by educating his neighbors 
to an appreciation of better stock. T.ikewise, a farmer 
may get the best corn, wdieat or other crop, and, by 
raising fine crops of good quality, work up a reputation 
as a grower of pure-bred seeds and thus obtain from his 
neighbors prices for seed wdiich are better than the prices 
offered at the elevator, or even more than could be 
realized if the grain were fed to live stock. Other 
specialties which oft'er opportunities are berry raising, 
orchard fruits, or even some less common crop with 
which the local market is not supplied by other farmers 
in the vicinity. Often the distant market will afford 
better prices than the home market. Especially in case 



n.AXXIXG THF. FARM 



lOI 



of pure-bred animals and pedigreed seeds, people will 
])ay better prices for something secured at a distance 
Ironi their homes. But most farmers must win out by 
doing ordinar}' farming very well. The great staple 
crops and the great classes of live stock are the stay of 
the farming business, and producing" them is a remunera- 
ti\e business if well conducted. 



THE FARMSTEAD 

Location. — After taking a general ^■iew of the farm, 
the location of the central feature should be decided 
: ,_ upon. The farm- 
stead must be so 
]) 1 a c e d as to 
h a \' e a g o o d 
site and be in 
easy communi- 
cation with all 
other parts of 
the farm. vSee 
sites of farm- 
steads in J'^igures 
41 to 43 F. 

Site of the 
farmstead. — The 
farmstead should 
be proportionate 
in size to the 
farm and to the 
farm business, 
and it may be 
definite in its 
outline on at least two sides. So locating the 
farmstead that it may be enlarged in one or two 
directions is sometimes an advantage, as when the 
J arm is enlarged by the purchase of adjoining tracts. 




-*0 /iOOS 



Fig :;r. (;t'i]i.MMl vh\u fm- :i fMimsteail. with road on 
tlie iiurtli ; with uiiulhrealc. ureliard and gaidens; and witli 
liiiihlinys. hmes and paddocks or small flehls liandily ar- 
ranged beside each barn: I, house; II, horse barn; 
III. poultry house; IV. cow barn. Tlie south half of the 
.■'mail field beside the liorse barn could be used for swine 
with a building near the central lane, with such division 
into lots as may be required for tlie horses and hogs. 



102 



FAR M DIA'KLOP M ENT 



„0 



cJ^ 



GARDEN 



ORCHARD 



Ten acres, or an area 40 by 40 rods, or 30 ])y 50 
rods, makes a very good-sized farmstead on a farm of 
160 acres. (See Figure 37.) This allows a distance of 
8 to 20 rods between the house and the barn, with ample 
room for the garden, orchard, lawns and shelter belt on 
half the area. 
The remainder 
can be utilized 
for barns, food 
storage build- 
ings, m a c h i n e 
sheds and yards 
for animals. The 
laying out, plat- 
ting and staking 
out locations for 
buildings can 
best be done on 
the ground, and 
while the owner 
must decide 
most of these 
questions. h e 
should consult 



. D- 




_f J... 



KiKuie :;S. F;iiin.sttMil nii the sduUieast corner of the 
farm. fiDiitiiig east and the lanil sloping to the east. 
1. I>uellhig; II, hog house; III, horse barn; IV, cattle barn; 
\'. ponlliy house; VI, grain liouse. By means of braniii 
lanes from II, IV and V. with cross fences, the hogs, cattle 
• ,■1 . Moil jjnultry can be supplied with small fenced fields planted 

Wltn OtnerS to l" peimanent pasture or used for growing pasturage and 
, . .soilage in rotation. 

secure their 

criticisms of his plans and suggestions of improvements. 
After the ]:)lan has been decided upon, the necessary meas- 
urements should be made and a map drawn showing the 
proposed location for grove, buildings and other features 
of the farmstead. 

Windbreaks and shelter belts. — The location of a grove 
for a windbreak, and for a l)ackground to the picture of 
home life within, is a matter worthy of careful thought, 
especially in cold or windy regions. Laying out the loca- 
tion for a timber belt to form two or more sides of the 



PLANNING THE FARM 



103 



farmstead, as definitely locates the size, form and position 
of this center of the operations of the farm, as the placing 
of the foundation and sills of a barn or dwelling decides 
upon the plan of the building. These foundation plans 
should be large so that the farmstead may contain ample 
room for all the buildings, yards and garden plats which 
luay be needed in the future. If there is more land thus 
inclosed than is needed in the start, one or two small plats 
or fields can be utilized for special crops. Potatoes, roots 
for stock, corn or other crops for soilage, or pastures for 
calves, colts or hogs, may thus be raised to advantage 
near the build- 
ings. The area 
within the wind- 
breaks should be 
large enough so 
that when the 
live stock has so 
increased as to 
necessitate en- 
larging the num- 
ber of buildings 
and paddocks, 
there will be 
adequate room. 

Many farms 
on the prairies 
are not sheltered 




Figui-e '■' 
bnni; II, 



Faimslead ficintiiig itt-.ul on tlie scmtli. I. Horse 
wine Ijani; III, piiultf.v house: IV. ciiltle baui. 



by windbreaks, 
though ample 
time has elapsed since they were first established. The 
dreary aspect, the frigid experiences of caring for stock 
in winter, the loss of profits on animals from the lack of 
protection from the sweep of biting winds, the barren- 
ness of the surroundings of the home, are not to be con- 
sidered lightl}'. The man or woman who has grown up 



I04 



FARM DEVELOPMEiNT 



rt.^ 



40 RODS 



-C 



GARDEN 



within a prairie home snugly surrounded by a grove 
planted early by the father, can best appreciate the dif- 
ference between that and the unprotected farmhouse. 
Considered from the standpoint of cost and profit in 
dollars and cents, the grove pays. If to this is added the 
comforts, the pleasures, the greater possibilities of hav- 

i n g a m ore 
beautiful home 
life, stronger 
attachment of 
the children to 
the home, and 
better op- 
portunities for 
d e \- e 1 o p i n g 
strong, useful 
lives, the 
profits are not 
easily com- 
puted. 

In the middle 
northwest, 
^v h e r e the 



D='^a 



ORCHARD 




I'iguie 40. Farmstead fronting load on tlie wesi 
b, horse barn; c, poultry house: d. vhk liaiu: e. hn 



,„„^,,. prevailmg wm- 
ter winds and 
cold storms come from the north and west, it is usually 
desirable to have the windbreak on these two sides, with 
the south and east open to the warm sun, as shown in 
Figures ^y, 38, 39 and 40. These four plans are designed 
to show: the general arrangement as to the approach 
from the public highway, whether it is on the north, 
east, west or south ; the relative location and distance 
apart of buildings ; and the general plans for lanes and 
paddocks, also the location of the orchard and the gar- 
dens. Nearly every farm ofifers individual problems and 
only general suggestions can be given here. In some 



PLAXMXC, Till-; 1-Ak.\l 105 

sections, belts or clumps of trees grouped throughout the 
farmstead for a protection from hot, southwest winds 
are also desirable and they add beauty. Trees for shade 
and to reduce the summer temperature of the home often 
are important, and foresight in planting the proper kinds 
of trees in the best places is wise. Some farms have 
been unfortunately planned, and the buildings so placed 
that it is very difficult to locate groves and clumps of 
trees where they are most needed. Not infrequently the 
dwelling or the barn buildings, or both, are located so 
close to a public road on the west or north that there is 
no room for a timber belt. A similarly fatal mistake is 
often made by placing the buildings on the top of a hill 
that slopes to the north or west. This last arrangement 
is especially undesirable if the hillside is gravelly or 
otherwise unsuited to the rapid growth of trees for shel- 
ter, shade and ornament. 

Farmers who enter timbered lands are too apt to cut 
away all trees near their buildings. The necessity for 
removing trees from their fields seems to develop a de- 
sire for destroying trees. Many a farmhouse in the 
timbered regions has been placed on a hill, the trees 
have been cut away all around, and no protection left on 
the north and west sides, thus changing a cozy nook 
into a blank opening, having only a house instead of a 
cozy home. Trees may yet be planted, however, and 
the farm made homelike. 

It is often an advantage to have the farmstead near a 
public road, as this facilitates communication with the 
outer world. The wife likes to have a glimpse of passers- 
by, and the neighborly call of a friend who can drop in 
is pleasant to all members of the family. The free de- 
livery of mail and the public conveyance of children to 
tlie consolidated rural school, which should be the rule in 
every farm community, also are less expensive and more 
satisfactorv when the house is not too far from the high- 



loO 



FARM l)r:Vl':LOP.MENT 



way. In sonu" cases old fannsteads should I)c al)aii- 
doned and now ihr-s dcvcliiprd in locations move suitable 
as to topography and soil, and in easier reach of schools, 
churches, towns and neighbors. 

Other timber belts on parts of the farm not adjacent 
to the buildings are often desirable on prairie farms, and 



F 


D 




E 

L 


C 




1 


G 


B 




H L 


•^^"-^>w<n9<;iPoo 


^ A 




1 


□ 


D 




Oj 





-'■ i ''- 

Figure 41. Plan of a 160-acre farm with six t\vent.v-acre fields ami 
tliree ten-acre fields, while ten acres are devoted to the farmstead. Tlie 
lane LL, with its branch X. connects the public highway, the barn build- 
ings, the paddocks, and all the fields with each other. The plan is su 
made that all the fields may eventually be fenced and used uniler twd 
systems of crop rotation as shown more' in detail in Figure 42; on the six 
linger fields. A to K. is a six-year rotation; on tlie three-smaller fields, C. 
II. I. is a tliree-year rotation. 

efforts should be made to preserve carefully some of the 
best areas of woods on timbered farms ; and to manage 
properly under a good plan of forest cropping the growth 
of timber on sandy, rough or stony lands, where lumber, 
fuel, paper, pulp or other forest crop, may pay better 
than ordinary grain crops, or pastures, or hay. 



PLANNING THE FARM 



107 



1910 Ori 

191 1 Gn 
X 1912 Gn 



1915 Grass 

1916 Gra« 

1917 Crass 

1918 Grain 

1919 Corn 

1920 Wheat 



r«W Wilt- 

1910 Gras: 

1911 Gras: 

1912 Gras: 

1913 Grail 
■*■ I9H Con 



1915 Wheat 

1916 Grass 
191? Grass 

1918 Crass 

1919 Grain 

1920 Corn 



1909 Grail 

1910 Clov 

1911 Call. Crq 

1912 Gri 

1913 Ck 

/in A 



■|90<J Cull. Crop 

1910 Gra.n 

1911 Clo%cr 

1912 Cull. Crop 



1909 Clover 

1910 Cull. Cr»p 

1911 Grain 

1912 Clover 
191.1 Cull. Crop 

in ,1 



1909 Grass 

1910 Crass 

1911 grain 
1 1912 Corn 



1915 Crass 

1916 Grass 
19i; Grain 

1918 Corn 

1919 WJieal 

1920 Grass 



1909 Gras' 

1910 Grail 

1911 Corr 

1912 Whei 

1913 C;ras' 
19U Grav 



191.S Gr.iss 
1916 (}rain 
191? Corn 

1918 Wheal 

1919 Crass 

1920 Grass 



19(19 Oram 
1910 Corn 
J91I Wheal 



I91.S Gran 
1916 Con 
191? Whei 

1918 Gras 

1919 Gras 

1920 Gras 



Roads and lanes. — 1'licsc arc mentioned in connec- 
tion with the plan of the farmstead and the fields. The 
public road, whether it fcn-ms a boundary of the farmstead 
or is reached l)y a road or lane across the farm between 
fields, should be 
connected with 
the dwelling, the 
barns, the lanes 
among" the barn- 
yards, and roads 
reaching all the 
fields. M u c h 
time m a }^ be 
saved by a con- 
venient arrange- 
ment of lanes 
and gates among 
the buildings 
a n d yards. A 
day. or even a 
month, of careful 
planning m a y 
save years of 
needless work 
and worry, and 
will do m u c h 
toward provid- 
ing for a perma- 
nent healthy in- 
terest in the 
farm work. 

Paddocks and 



at 



1909 Cor« 

1910 Whti 

1911 Gras- 

1912 Gras 

1913 Crasi 
19H Gran 



1915 Corn 

1916 Wheal 
191? Grass 

1918 Crass 

1919 Grass 

1920 Gram 



30 A 



Figure 42. Giving mctliod of writing, in a simple niiUi 
iif tlie farm, a roration sclieme sliowing tlie crops to lit 
grown in each field for a Jong series of years, in fact, a 
permanent projection of a cropping plan for systematic 
rotation in each fielil of each rotation series. The arrow 
.shows the order of succession in which the six-year rotation 
is begun with corn in the six twenty-acre fields and the three- 
year rotation is begun witli cultivated crops in the three 
ten-acre fields. A rotation suiial.ilc In the six twenty-acre 
fields in the midille northwest is ;is follmv.s: 1st year, corn; 
2d year, wheat: .id year, grass: 4tli year, gr.iss: .Ith year, 
grass (or grain); 6th year, grain: then, beginning again with 
corn, repeat. By starting out with one field, as A, with 
corn in VM'J; field B in corn in 191U; field (' in corn in 
1911, etc, each field takes its regular place in the rotation 
course, giving annually 2fl acres to corn, 20 to wlieat, 60 
to grass and 20 to other small grains. A rotation suited to 
the three ten-acre plats is as follows: 1st year, cultivated 
crops; 2d .year, grain; :id year, clover. To show that the 
order of numbering or the order in which the fields occur 
need not be followed in any regular wMy in deciding whicii 
field shall first be planted to a given crop chosen to begin 
tlie rotation, the three-year rotation is placed on fields 
a. H and I in an Older which does not seem regular on 
paper, but might be the most natural order in which to 
bring the fielils from an old system of cropping to the 
new rotation scheme. Tlie arrow here also shows the course 
of the rntatioii. 



barnyards. — The 
central feature of barnyards and paddocks should be a 
lane communicating at one end. by means of gates, with 
the stock doors of the barns, with paddocks, yards and 



io8 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



side lanes, and. at the outer end. with the lanes leadin^i^ to 
the pastures and other fenced fields of the farm. Though 
this artery be very simple and inexpensive, }'et it will save 
many steps and make gentle treatment of the stock pos- 
sible. Substantial fences may now be made so cheaply of 
smooth W()\en wire that no stock farm should lack a handy 

arrangement of 

paddocks with 

lanes and gates. 

Lawn, garden 



P&Sture 
eo C&ttle for 03 dayj 

Coui-i6to(jAys, oreoa&yiperA. 



Paiture . 
20 C&ttle for eo days 
3 nor^es " //« 
'SS^o&ys or 77 7 of^ys per A. 



WOeat 

J187 bu 9 to 



" Clover '■ 
13 T in June 
Cfi/f p&hturr 
in fA// 



Nog Pastur e 



Foade r 
SA - Z7T 



Oar * Pea H&.y 
Re^pe for Hog y 



Strnmt - 's T 



Bar/ey .- rar bu j 
5tr&iM - lo.s T 



Cor .— I/40 bu 
Stover- S9 T 



lao bu no IM @ 
Stra.ui-t.3 s T 



Grass. 
£7 s T tfi June 
/3S-T Sept 



Figure 4:i.\. 



and orchard. — 
The lawn, the 
garden and the 
orchard should 
each be given 
room in the orig- 
inal plan of the 
farmstead. The 
orchard should 
be so placed that 
the air will not 

remain quiet 

map 1.11 uiiicu thf ciuDs yiouii mi auioug thc trees 

cacli Held for a given year (1911) are recorded, logellier with 'ii j • 

a record of the yield of each crop, etc. It will be observed but Will drain 
tliat these are the crops prescribed for the .vcar 11)11 in Ihc 

rotations projected in Figure 42. OUt, thUS tending 

to reduce injury from bacterial and fungous diseases and 
to make the trees less subject to injury from frost. A 
northeast slope, with trees on the north but none on the 
east, often best combines shelter from winter winds with 
air drainage. In some cases it seems best not to surround 
the plat chosen for an orchard with the grove, or else to 
place the orchard on the north or east side of the grove. 
Buildings for specialties. — Buildings for propagating 
plants, for manufacturing dairy products, for making 
sugar, for drying fruit, for meats or other special 
purposes, should be so placed as to be convenient- 



rLAXXINC, Till': FAK.\r 



109 



Cellars and ea\es .should hv handily arranged that they 
may Ijc easily entered in winter. Cellars under living 
houses are far too common, as they are not easily kept 
wholesome, and sometimes endanger the health of the 
famil}'. 

The residence. — The buildings should not be too near 
a public highway. Five to fifteen rods from the road 
is a good distance to place the dwelling on the family 
farm, while the barns should be in convenient com- 
munication with the house, as well as properlv located 
for protection from cold winds and for drainage. The 
residence should be so placed as to be easily reached 
from all other buildings and yet afford a pretty lawn and 
a commanding 
^• i e vv of the 
farmstead. I t 
should be sub- 
stantially built, 
with attractive 
exterior. The 
general archi- 
tectural features 
should be made 
comely by their 
general propor- 
tions rather than 
by means of 

lanCy scroll Klguie 4aii. Olson F^inn luiie liiuidrra ;iiKl forty acres) 

Tir/^«-1 4-'U before replaniiing. 

WOrK, or Otner XOTK. The land inclosed by fences overflows, and can 

<-I^o:.^»,^ „, U : „ 1, '^''*'' '"^ "^^'' "^ permanent pasture. The remainder of llie 

UeSlgnS W n 1 C n land is all rich, gently rolling, ami suitable for corn, 

.-,'" , grass and srain crops. 

Will not long 

endure or may not be cheaply kept in repair. A\'hilc the 
permanent business of the farm may not warrant a large 
or expensive house, whatever is built should be as sub- 
stantial and enduring as can be afforded. The buildings 
are like the w^ell-cared-for soil, or a well-made road, a 




no 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



f9/l ■ 

/9/3 

/9/4 
fS/S 



/9/S - G^4//V 

/9/3 - CO^N 

t9f4 - tVHtAf 

'9t5 - z^nrsT 



J 909 - CO/ffV 
/9/0 - ^VW/y* / 



permanent portion of the capital stock. The outbuild- 
ings, such as woodshed, ice house, etc., may often be 
utilized by l^nilding them near together, to inclose or 
shelter a court or yard in which the wood cutting and 
many other outdoor duties may be performed in com- 
fort, e\en on cold days. 

The barn buildings. — The buildings for animals and 
feedstuffs should not be too near the residence, because 

of the odors, 
and tlic litter 
w It i c h is 
usually scat- 
tered about at 
harvest time. 
Neither should 
the distance be 
too great, es- 
j^ecially in cold, 
windy countries, 
w h ere the 
numerous daily 
tri]:)S between 
the house and 
b a r n s should 
not be imneces- 
sarily long. 
There are many 
arguments for 
having one large barn and centering there the live stock 
and their foods. In developing a farm, however, the 
means with which to erect buildings are not earned at 
a bound, and, as a rule, it is necessary to erect one build- 
ing at a time. It is not a bad plan, as it can be afiforded, 
to build well a separate building for each class of live 
stock. The barns, machinery sheds, and other sheds and 
granaries mav often be used to inclose vards, in 




coin 



Figure 43C. ()ls(pii Faini. Ueorgaiiizeil plaii. 

NOTE. Five-year i-'itatimi ini five twenty-acre fieliis: First 
year, wlieat; secoiul year, yra.s.s; tliird year, grass; fourlli 
.year, grain ; flftli year. corn. 

Four-year rotation on four fields of five and six acres eacli: 
First year, corn: second year, wlieat; tlilrd year, clover; 
fourtli year, plots of annual ii.isturage and soiling crops, tn 
be used witli movaljle fences for separately fencing eacli por- 
tion as ready for pastm-ins 



PLANNr\(; Till': fakm 



III 



which the stock may be comfortable when out of doors 
in winter. 

The fields. — A comi)lete inspecLion of the farm is 
necessary, in selecting one to purchase, and it should 
be even more complete when deciding on the 
general plan for its development. Lands which can- 
not ])e used in aral)le fields in the general scheme 
of the rotation must be set aside for meadows, 
permanent pastures or wood lots. In considering 
these in connection with the several fields into 
which the arable portion should be divided for the pur- 
pose of decid- 
ing upon a sys- 
tem of rotating 
the crops, each 
should be so ar- 
ranged that it 
may be reached 
through suit- 
able roads and 
lanes. (See 
Figure 41.) The 
fields which are 
to be alter- 
nately plowed 
and in tame 
grasses should 

^ Figure JMD. Hnrlan Farm. 

Qg three or '""f""" leiilaiminK. Tlie wet a 

more in number, so as to make practicable a system of 
change or rotation which will be at once profitable in the 
yields of crops, and will aid in keeping up the fertility of 
the soil. The plan of the fields and lanes should also be 
platted on paper. This is important, not only to preserve 
the plan, but to induce one to keep a record of the fields. 
Provide for systematic rotation. — Every farm business 
should be planned out years ahead and the plan should 















"^ ■if 






l"^ / 






I "/ 






r 






/S06- wf/cAr \ ^ 1 

n 


t906- COM 




30Ac/.^V, / 




40 A< 




/ ' 


3 
t 








p/iswfi£ / y' 


/906 -MC/POOn 




\(ih/y^ 






30 At 


m> 














#^ 


f 






/906 - O/ITS 






10 A< 






30Ai 



One-liiinilred-anil-sixly- 
>a U til lie tile ilraiiieil. 



T 1 2 



FAR M I ii;\'i'.i.( )i'.\i i-;x r 



l)c rt-cordnl. Tlicre shuuld In adi'fifed a scheme of 
n i|;ii 111- I In- ci'ops. tlic ij;-cMKT;d features nl which shmihl 
l->e adhered to. Avitli modifications in the less important 

m a Iters a s 
seas("m, market. 
hd)or and other 
farm conditions 
nia_\- re(|nire. 

T li e centi .il 
fealnre <)\ I'lie 
held i)lan shi mid 
l)e a scheme iif 
r (T t a t i (I n of 
cro])s. Most 
f a r m s should 
he dixided into 
t wo ]iorti(Mis. 
and each por- 
tii m di\'icled into 
a numher of 
fields of nearly 
e (| n a 1 siziv 
Some i a r m s 
sh(iuld ha\e only one set ot fields, and some should be 
dixided into UK^re than two parts, with each part di\'ided 
up into a series of fields adapted to a i^ixen scheme of crop 
lotatioii. Thus two fields accommoilate a two-year 
rotation, three fields a three-}-ear rotation, four fields a 
four-year rotation, etc. Thus ahout the same acrea.qe 
of each class of crops is ])ro\ided each year; also all the 
adxantat^ies of cro]) rotation to keep the soil productixe : 
and farming; hecomes an orderly business in which 
rc-cords i-an be kcy)i and where profits and losses on 
each enteri)rise can be more definitely known. That a 
s>-stematic- rotation of c.-ops may and should be ijlanned 
and succtssfnlK inan-nrated has been amply demon- 













/907 - (G^'iZ/V) 


' ' /SW/ - fi/f/f//V 






/903 ■ iiroftfA 


/«W - CA/liS 






f909 - C-W/zV 


I90> - O'SS 






; J9/t • ?^v7v \ 


I9n3 - C/iASi 
t9ll - Cff/i/A/ 






: /9/2 - Cff'^SS \ 
/9/3 - Gff^SS 


,^1912 - COHN 
y 1911 - SMm 






; /9/4 . o/f/}SS \ 


y /9/9 • ORA^S 






! /$/S - CRAli^ • 


19i5 - GRASS 






t ! /9/6 ' CO/f/V \ 20 A: ^ 


'D 1916 - GlfyfSS 


?0 4< 




* j907-h'^'^''v) \ y \ 


f»./907 - Ct^AV 






1 J908- GR-'iSS »' 1 


* . /9'?S • S^aT?/ 






! 1909 • cf^-4s$ y \ 


g! /909 • 6/fASS 
5. /9'0 - GRASS 






\ i9io - cB-^iN y \ 






'-*-/9/f - C0.9A'*m'' 


¥1 1911 - CRASS 






I9i2 ' C^flJfJ \ 


S; /9j2 - GRAIN 






/9/3 ■ G'JISS 


5; 1913 • CORrJ 






/9/'t ' G/f^SS \ 


V ' 1914 ■ GRAIN 






/9/5 ■ C-fi^SS § 
f /9/6 - GRAIN JfA. 


*l 191 S - GRASS 






C 1 1916 ■ GRASS 


?OAt 




1907 ■ 6f?AIN 


l90S-GfififN ;g 


; /W7 -(GRASS) 






1908- CRASS 


* ^i9ce - cgRN***i 






1909 ■ CO^*-^ 


/9C9 ' tj^^ss ; 5 


mo - grI^s i 






191 f ' GRASS '' 


/9// ■ Zm^n \\ 


' 1911 - GRASS [ 






1912 ■ CORf^ 


li/i-e^xss IS 


\ 19/2 - GRASS 






t9n-GRA/N \ 
1914 -GRASS 


/9tS -CftASS .^ 


\ 1913 - GRAIN 1 
\ 1914 - CORN [ 






19/5 - CORfV 


'^ ISIS - GRAIN 1 






G l9ii-ZR^f^ |0A 


'.,„ IS.t-Com toA, 


g «, I9IG - GRASS , 


JOAi 




^Mm'i^m 


/909' J^vT* 


\ 1907 - (CORN) . 






% ^., 


'w/9(79 - CORN*^ 
1910 - T^N 






km 


'/I'i ■ S^ 


/>/3 - S2i" 








1914 - GRAIN 






/3/5 - <J/?^/yv 


ISIS • CORN 
1916 - GRAIN 






Ui ^'l lOA. 


^^ /9'6 - c^jiss 10 aj 


A 


20 «- 





i::i: 



II. 111. Ill K;i 
lii'l.ls. mill 
■ iiiiMWs fnlliiuiii 

lid. Is In IMl'J .11 

i.t Ihc liil.is ill 1 



11. .V six-y.'.ii nilalinii imi.ifrlf.l nn 
llini-vi'.ii r.iliiliiili oil Ihitf leli-;i.Tc 
(.■nil. fiiiiii l!i(i7. on h'ii'hi ('. on the 
Fic-I.l l>. sli.,u, tlir .iirjiinrnu'iil .if 



^i\- 



ii.li 1 



PLANXixt; vnv: farm 



113 



strated. A few illustrations of systematically arranged 
plans for new farms and for the rearrangement of old 
farms are here given. Those who have become 
expert in this kind of rural engineering in a given locality 
have no serious trouble in using the farmer's own knowl- 
edge of his soils and of the products he wishes to make, 
in rearranging and mapping any farm so that the owner 
can conduct it under systematic crop rotations. This 
cannot be done at arm's length, as by editors in their 
offices, but must be done on " the ground," with the plan 
of the farm, a knowledge of the farm and the farm busi- 
ness in all its details, in mind. Even then, the final 
decisions relat- 



ing to 


the 


n u m b e r 


of 


fields in 


the 




//ay, . 



/ 29S.Sa 

Ka/ue pef Ae/^ ^ /■* ii 

Cosr per Mrre S.f2 , 

Alcf income per t^cft 9.6S 

D 20 A< 



May , JS r. @ 4 4,/t. M 227. So 

^ Z7O.70 



/hsfura^e 
iZCow4. /OOdafs ^S* 



meat' ^o6u @7S^ ^3/S.oc 
SrraM - /6r(^pS 32 o. 

■A3'^?o 
ya/ue fier A $ f7 3S 

/Vef /ncome per A 4 tO- Zt 



cropping 
scheme ; the 
sequence o f 
crops; specific 
plans, as for 
catch crops ; 
the place for 
fences; all 
must be work- 
ed out by the 
farmer, and 

much of the 
drawing must 
be done by him or under his immediate supervision. 
Often he cannot, and more often he will not, follow a 
ready-made plan or even a plan which does not compre- 
hend his own best thought. The work of rearranging 
fence lines, placing lanes, and deciding upon the length 
of rotations and the crops to be included in each series 
of fields, requires some skill. A few of the general prin- 



Figure 43F. H.irlaii \ 
records of crops for llUi 



Aniuial ledger map slKuving 



114 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

ciples and facts concerning; the rotation of crops may 
properly be stated here. (See Figures 41 and 43.) It 
should be observed that the following- statements apply 
somewhat locally to the farm conditions of the middle 
Northwest. 

The average yearly value of the series of crops in rota- 
tion must considerably exceed the average cost of pro- 
duction, that there may ])e a large net annual profit per 
acre and per worker. 

.'"'^Each crop chosen must do its share toward producing 
the average net profit by its direct net profit, taking into 
account the reduction of the productivity of the soil, or 
its improvement of the soil for succeeding crops. 

Soil-reducing crops include most of the grains and cul- 
tivated crops. Soil-improving crops include most of the 
grasses, clovers and such other leguminous crops as 
peas, beans and lupins. 

Some crops reduce the producti\ity of the soil for the 
same and certain other crops, while some crops increase 
the productivity of the soil for certain crops. Thus 
wheat, oats and barley reduce the productivity of the soil 
for wheat, oats and barle}'. Corn, on the other hand, 
leaves the soil in peculiarly favorable condition for these 
small grains, and for grasses and clovers seeded with 
them. Clovers, and the legumes generally, leave the soil 
peculiarly improved for nearly all crops. 

Crops which reduce the productivity of the soil may 
do so in various ways, as. by allowing to multiply those 
kinds of weeds which are peculiarly harmful to the 
succeeding crops ; by introducing plant diseases ; pos- 
sibl}^ by introducing substances poisonous to the soil ; 
by leaving the soil in poor mechanical condition ; and by 
leaving it lean of certain compounds needed for plant food. 

Crops which increase the productivity of the soil may 
accomplish this in numerous ways, as by adding organic 
matter which support bacterial and other activities; by 



PLANNING THE FARM II5 

supporting" Ijacleria which bring into the soil atmospheric 
nitrogen ; by providing a good seed bed ; by opening up 
impervious subsoils by the roots ; by improving the 
mechanical conditions of the furrow-slice so that it may 
be put into better tilth ; and Ijy increasing the farm 
supply of manure. 

As a general rule cultivated crops prepare the im- 
mediate conditions of the land for the grains ; grains for 
the grasses, especially where the grasses are grown the 
first year among grain crops; and the grasses, in turn, 
prepare the land for cultivated crops, as in the following 
rotation: First year, corn; second year, wheat; third 
year, clover ; and repeat indefinitely. 

All the crops in the rotation should be in practical 
sequence, as: First year, corn; second year, wheat; 
third, fourth and fifth years, timothy and clover for 
hay and pasturage ; sixth year, grain. Here the corn 
prepares the land for the wheat, and also provides a solid 
furrow-slice with mellow seed bed, suited to insure a 
catch of timothy and clover seeded with the spring 
wheat ; the wheat gives a profitable crop, while the 
clover and timothy plants ha\'e a year in wdiich to 
start among the wheat so as to yield well the third 
year; the grass sod provides splendid conditions for 
the oats, barley, flax or other grain grown in the 
sixth year; and after receiving ])art of the year's 
product of stable manure, the grain stubble, plowed 
m either [all or spring, puts the soil in splendid condition 
for the crop of corn, with which the rotation is again 
inaugurated. 

This rotation scheme includes crops each of whicli 
gives a large average net profit ; requires the expense 
of plowing each field only twice in six years, once for 
the corn and once for grain ; keeps in check weeds and 
plant diseases ; maintains a good percentage of organic 
matter in the soil ; provides for a high annual rate of 



ll() FARM DEVELOPMENT 

])lanl food production from the soil and from the air; 
maintains the soil in good condition mechanically; 
leaves the land more productive at the end of each six- 
year rotation period ; keeps down the recjuirements for 
present day high-priced labor; and. for the region men- 
tioned above, it is the basis of a system of crop and live 
stock production which yields a high annual net income 
per acre and per \\H)rker. 

Most farms are rather awkwardly organized, many of 
them not showing any attempt at systematic planning. 
It is hoped that investigations, in crop rotations, in the 
cost of making farm products, in the methods used by the 
most successful farmers, and other like subjects, will ere 
long give a basis for a literature on farm organization 
and farm management in each state. 

When this has been done the farmer, often with the 
help of his son and the teacher in the consolidated 
rural school, can ])lace on paper a systematically organ- 
ized plan to be followed in its main features. Keeping 
an annual ledger map by annually putting yields, cost 
and other facts in each field on the map. will be a pleas- 
ant task for the farmer. Duplicate copies of these maps 
on file in the consolidated rural school, in the agricul- 
tural high school, and in the agricultural newspaper, will 
be the bases of very lively discussion of farm manage- 
ment. This subject will then have changed from an in- 
definite, if not uninteresting, topic to a fascinating and 
most vital educational and economic subject. 



CHAPTER VIII 
SUBDUING THE LAND 

In subduing the land we meet a variety of problems. 
The labor, time and expense of subduing the native 
grass sod on a field of undulating prairie land is not 
more than double the cost of plowing under the stubble 
of one crop, preparatory to planting another. Where 
the land is wet and part or all the field must be drained, 
there is a material addition to the cost ; and often much 
time must elapse before the soil is drained and ready 
to receive the seeds of a cultivated crop and bring in 
returns for capital invested in the wet acres. Where 
brush, trees, stones or even coarse peat are present, 
there is an added outlay of labor required, and the date 
when profits may be realized on the land is still further 
delayed. 

A large portion of our wooded lands has rich soils 
free of stones, and is well adapted to use as arable lands 
in rotative cropping. Much of the land covered with 
native trees, however, is rough, stony, wet or otherwise 
not adapted to the use of the plow, and would best be 
used for permanent grass land or for the continued 
growth of forest crops. 

Brushing the land is usually the first operation in 
forest-covered land, that there may be little to impede 
the operations of grubbing, and that the piled brush 
may be dry and useful in aiding to burn the stumps. 
In new districts, remote from large centers of popu- 
lation, much good wood, and even straight timber sticks, 
must be sacrificed to the flames because of the too great 
expense of transporting them to market. 



ii8 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



The brush scythe, a light ax, a hand l)rusli hook, and 
simple devices for using horses for raking the brush 
together into piles, are the implements chietly used in 




Figure 41. A. iNiiiliiKik: It. .--pm.Ic; c. imll ;i-v : D, Uouble-edgecl ax; 
E, shovel; V. ornwiKir: (!. iiiaU(Pi'k; il, Inu.-li liook; I, pick; J, nugei ; 
JC, brush scythe; h, urosa-ful saw. 



SUBDUING THE LAND 



119 



clearing the land of shrubs and of brush left from fallen 
trees. In this, as in other operations of clearing, there is 
use for skill and judgment as well as for an abundance 
of brawn. For the heavy work of drawing together logs, 
a team, preferably one experienced in logging, and an 
equipment of chains, canthooks, etc.. are very necessary ; 
while human muscle, coupled with skill and tact, are 




Fiaure 45. A useful fdim (if wind 



Mpstan stuiuiJ puller. 



also required for rapid and thoroughgoing work. It is 
necessary to precede the skidding of logs with some ax 
work, in case of recently felled trees or tops from which 
the branches have not yet rotted ; and following the 
skidding, the ax and brush scythe are used to remove the 
shrubs and trees which are too small to require grubbing. 
AA^iere not too remote, and where herding or fencing 
can be arranged, sheep and goats may sometimes be 
employed in brushing the lands, provided it is not im- 
portant to get the land immediately tinder the plow. 



120 



FARM i)i:vi:L()rMi':NT 



For arable fields all trees and stones should be re- 
moved. In some cases the difficulty ui removing" stones 
and stumps will not permit the immediate completion of 
the work. "Fime allows the stumps to decay and our 
fungous bacterial friends may be allowed to gradually 
decompose the roots until the stumps may more readily 
be removed. Time also gives opportunity for accumulat- 
ing the means and forces necessary to remove obstacles 




il •stiimii h.Hik 



which could not he rcnKn'cd with the limited resources 
at first available. Where the stones or stumi)s are not 
too thick the culti\ati(m may, in some cases, at least 
temporarily, be carried on among them. The stump 
may be removed easier b^' attacking" the roots while the 
tree is standing, rather than after it has been cut down. 
Any mechanical dex'ice for nulling the stump affords 
greater adwintage if attached some distance up the l)ody 
of the tree. I'suall}', however, the lumbermen ])rccede 
the settler and only stumps remain to be removed. 

Grubbing is the heavy and expensive part of the work 
of clearing. Heavy machinerv is being develoned for 
remo\'ing stvmps, and exiilosi\'es are useful, yet hand 



SUBDUING THE LAND 121 

work is neccssarx-, and in rare cases slumps may l)c best 
removed entirely by hand. Some of the most necessary 
hand tools are shown in Figure 44. 

The art of digging" about the stump with shovel and 
mattock, of cutting" the roots with mattock or ax and of 
gradually working the stump loose so that it may be 
displaced, cannot well be learned from the written page. 
Doing the work, together with the expert advice and 
counsel of one experienced in the business, is the way 
this and many other things, consisting largely of manual 
operations, may l^est be learned. There is much oppor- 
tunity for head work, and the man who uses good judg- 
ment as to where and how to strike, conserves his 
strength and makes rapid progress. 

Stumji inillers are becoming a most useful part of the 
clearing outfit and are adapted to a large proportion of 
the work. These machines are of several kinds. Vari- 
ous forms are adapted to multiply handpower. One of 
the C(Mnmon forms of this type of machine has, as its 
essential parts, a strong tripod, and a powerful screw 
worked by a hand lever which lifts the stump, on the 
same principle as the jackscrew, except that it is used 
to pull instead of to push. 

A short, strong" chain, 20 t(^ 40 feet long, fastened to a 
heavy lever, and a team hitched to the other end, gives 
power to pull out many stumps, even if they are 
as large as 2 feet in diameter. A very large pole, 30 
or more feet long, with a heavy chain to wrap around 
the stump, is the usual device. The team pulling on 
the small end of the pole literally twists the stump loose 
from the earth. 

A block and tackle, applied l)y means of a capstan, 
is much used to multiply horse and steam power. The 
capstan, fastened to one or more strong stumps by means 
of guy chains or cables, is the main feature of some of the 
most practical stunip pullers in use. (See Figures 45-47.) 



FARM iii:\'i:r.()iv\i i-..\t 




Since l(i^;^'crs liaxn- siu-ci'ssi'nll \ ;iil;ii)tcil sU'niii cnq'iiies 
1i' drawiiij^' !o^s tlir(mi;li llu' woods, invention has been 
ilirectcd lo llic nsc of sicain |)o\\er lor pnllinj^' slnni^JS. 
The ,i^eneral ])lan is lo use an enL;ine witli sufficient 
jjower t<i ])ull slumps or trees, \\ith a long cable. A 
liorse or team is ust-d to carry (|uickly the outer end of 
the cable from the disli xl^ecl stum]) \o the one next to 
be removed. 

Recenllv de\ iseil steam slnmi)-i)ullin.L;" machinery 
promises to rc'duce llu' cost (ii removinj::^ stumps. These 

m a c h i n e s are tc)o 
lar;^e to be atTorded by 
the indix'idual farmer. 
Tlie_\' ma\' be owned 1 y 
a .Gi'roup of co-operat- 
ing' farmers, or b}' per- 
^1 MIS who o])erate them 
U )r hire. Tn s( >me eases 
land dealers use these 
'"'""'^ ■'■' devices to clear a por- 

tion of each farm ofi\'red for sale. In the settlement of 
a ne^\■ region the land dealer whc) thus sells partially 
cleared farms can ,^i\e em|)liiyment to new settlers. 
who in return for ])art of their wages hire the machine 
to clear more of their lands. P>y usin.c; only sufficient 
dynamite to jar the lars:^er stumps loose from the earth. 
so they may l)e brou.^ht to the burning pile with less 
adherin.g .soil, the stum])s are easil}' j^ulled and drawn 
by the cables to a pile near the engine. Sometimes an 
acre of stum])s are thus p!ace<l in one pile at a single 
setting of the engine. The drum which wincLs up the 
cables is also used lo draw the engine tii its new station 
To accom|)lish this, the cable is attached to stumps in 
the area to be ne.xt cleared and as the drum winds it up, 
the engine, now made free of its guy cables, travels on 
skids to its new location. 



jmllcf ;lll(iiuic 


.1 III Iln' ^ 


lliiiiii .v. 


sliiiiip 1!. (liiiv 
of ;i single hi 
iiit: tlie .-.liiiii 


11. Tl„| u| 

lick ill iliill 
|i IV .mil 


hliii- ilif 
mili/iii 



SUBDUING THE LAND 123 

Some stumps may l)e partially burned by boring a hole 
from the top of t^ie stump down diagonally through the 
side, pouring kerosene into this slowly, so as to saturate 
the walls of the hole, and then applying a match. The 
hole serves as a chimney to give draft to the fire, which 
causes the stump to burn. Stumps or logs in the pile 
which refuse to burn may sometimes be started anew 
by thus using the auger and a small amount of kero- 
sene. But the more frequent use of fire in removing 
stumps is to cover them with l)rush and waste timber 
and burn part of the stum]:> while l^urning the other 
wood. Remaining portions, as large roots, may then be 
dislodged by pulling them with the stump puller. 

The cost per acre of clearing land of stumps varies 
from a few dollars to a hundred dollars or more. The 
kind of growth, the thickness of the stumps, the kind 
of soil and subsoil and the value of the wood products 
secured Avhile clearing the land are the leading items 
to be considered in estimating the net cost. There is 
more labor connected with removing stumps from a clay 
or from a stony soil than from a sandy soil and subsoil. 

The species of tree is also a most influential factor in 
the cost of clearing lands. The poplar stump, for ex- 
ample, is soft, easily broken, and not large, and may be 
removed when green with comparatively little trouble ; 
and if killed, it will rot in a few years so as to be very 
easily removed. The white birch, tamarack, basswood 
and jack pine stumps are also easily removed. 

The white pine, on the other hand, grows large, has 
very extensive though not deeply penetrating roots. It 
is solid, its wood is full of pitch, which serves as a pre- 
servative, and it will remain for a generation and still 
be hard to remove. Large stumps of this tree often 
require from one to five dollars' worth of labor and 
materials to remove them. Some hickories and oaks, 
develop large stumps with strong tap roots, holding 



124 FARAr r)i:\'i".i.()i^>rF.xT 

llieni vvvy linnly to llic soil. Tlir wdod will last, in 
case r)f the oaks, almost as Imiy' as? the white pine 
stumps. The numl)er (if stumps per acre likewise modi- 
fies the cost, as does also the amount of brush and logs, 
which must be burned or hauled off. The value of logs, 
cordwood, |)osts, etc., in some cases may l)e c(|ual to 
or greater than the cost of clearing the field. 

Explosives used in grubbing. — Explosives are coming 
into general use in removing stumps. Their use is only 
in part to throw the stum]:)s out of the ground, the 
greater aid being to jar the stump loose from the earth 
adhering to its roots. Stumps which are pulled by 
mechanically applied power bring up with their roots 
large quantities of earth which must be worked loose 
with sho\-el, and mattock. rc(|uiring no small amount of 
labor, as this earth must be returned to the hole from 
which the stump came. The stump wdiich has been 
thoroughly shaken Avith a charge of dynamite, even if it 
must then 1)e pulled by the stump puller, usualh" brings 
up but little earth. Stumps which are not clean of earth 
recpiire a long time to dry and additional labor to burn 
them. Another considerable gain in using a powerful 
explosive comes from splitting the stump so that it may 
be more easily handled and piled closer in the log pile, 
that it may more certainly be consumed at the first burn- 
ing. Stumps which are pulled up entire are often great 
sprawling bodies, the roots preventing close piling in 
the fire heap, often requiring a second or a third jiiling 
and refiring before they are all consumed. 

The nature of explosives should be thoroughly under- 
• stood by those who use them that serious accidents may 
be avoided. Dynamite should be handled with much the 
same care as Avould be used in handling eggs. It should 
be kept cool, yet not frozen, and the sticks of dynamite 
should be handled gently. For transporting, it should 
be packed in sawdust or some similar material, which 



SLT.UL'IXG TJIl': LAND 125 

will ])rc\-cnl its rcccix iii^;' siKldoi j;n's. When Iro/.cii, it 
should be thawed out slowly and without direct contact 
with the heated surface of a stove or fuel. Most acci- 
dents in cold climates happen while thawini:^' out frozen 
dynamite. Dynamite is sold in forms so that one or 
more pieces or sticks may be used for each stump, and 
suitable fuses are also made. The portions of stumps 
not thrown entirely out of the j^round by the explosive 
may be drawn out b}' means of a team wdth chain and 
stumj) hook; thout^h if lart^e roots remain deeply im- 
bedded in the soil the stum]i ])ulk'r may be used. 

The position in which to place the dynamite must be 
determined by the form and position of the stump. At 
the side of and under the stum]), in a hole made in the 
earth \vith a crowbar, is usually the most advantageous 
place in case of lar<;e pine stum])s. In some cases, it is 
wise to bore a hole iii the stum]), and, in rare cases, to 
locate the load of explosi\e under the center of the 
stump. In timbered regions where much clearing is in 
])rogress, men may be emi)loyed who are especially 
expert in the effective and economic use of dynamite. 

Experience with a given kind of stump under certain 
conditions of soil will aid the judgment of the intelligent 
man in locating the cx])losi\es so as best to throw the 
stump out, and break it into parts which mav be easilv 
piled for burning. 

Chemicals for destroying stumps have been experi- 
mented with, but so far as known none of them have been 
successfully used. 

Bacteria and fungi perform an important part in the 
decay of stumps and it has been suggested that the work 
of the bacteria might be encouraged by inoculating the 
stump with the proper species, or by supplying them 
with the kinds of foods or conditions which would cause 
them to multiply. Forms of fungi perform an important 
part in slowly remo\'ing stumps, and it may be that by 



126 FARM DEVRLOP.MF.NT 

rmilcliing' or l)y otherwise controlling the amount of 
moisture these and the bacteria would be encouraged to 
do their work more rapidly. 

Burning is a convenient method of removing logs, 
brush and stumps, and the ashes have a xaluc as fer- 
tilizer. Some care is required in piling green or wet logs 
or stumps so that when set on fire they will be com- 
pletely consumed. Since labor is required to collect and 
repile the partially burned wood, which is so charred on 
the outer surface that it will not readily start to burn. 
the manner of piling the first time is of importance. 
Waiting until the piled wood has had ample time to dry 
before setting it on fire is often necessary. Intelligence 
and care are required to avoid fire spreading into 
adjoining forests and fields. A\nien the season is ex- 
cessively dry and the danger considerable it is often best 
to defer the burning until rains have made the grass 
and leaves on surrounding lands less inflammable. 
Skidding logs together, raising them on the heap, and 
drawing the stum]:)s into advantageous positions for their 
complete burning requires a constant exercise of intel- 
ligence. 

Partial clearing for grass lands. — Frequently the ex- 
pense of remo\'ing tlie largest stumps from a field which 
is to be cultivated is so great that until the stumps 
have partially decayed, farmers must farm around them, 
but the general practice shoidd be. as far as practicable, 
to clear thoroughly whatever is begun. In " cilt over" 
fields, which cannot be at once cleared of all the stumps, 
valuable pasturage may be had by clearing out and burn- 
ing only the shrubs, small trees and down timber. The 
stumps may thus be left for the rotting process to make 
their removal easier at a later date. AMiere there are 
valuable young trees still growing, these, too. may be 
left and only the open s]~)aces cleared out to be seeded 
to the grasses and clovers desired for pasturage. Since 



SUDDUINC Till': LAXD 12/ 

(hese grass and clover seeds should be planted in freshly 
worked soil and not co^■ered deeply by leaves and weeds, 
it is wise, in many cases, to choose a dry time and l)uni 
the surface over, using care to remove leaves from about 
valuable trees, thus to avoid their being injured by the 
fire. Cutting up the surface l)y means of a spring tooth 
harrow, or a heavily built and weighted A harrow, or 
double A harrow, or by means of a disk harrow, gives a 
place for the grass seeds to germinate. Experience 
proves that seeds planted in these lands, in northern 
or drouthy sections, are more certain to germinate and 
live if planted early in the spring. This gives the roots a 
strong hold on the soil before hot. drv summer conditions 
prevail, and the crowns are then sufficiently mature to 
endure the severity of the first winter. In southern 
moister sections, early autumn, or even late autumn or 
winter planting of grasses and clover is sometimes best. 
Fire as a means of clearing up timber lands is a very 
useful and dangerous agency. In very dry seasons 
great forest fires sweep over large tracts, sometimes cov- 
ering many townships, and sometimes entire counties are 
burned over, as in the case of the Hinckley fire in Pine 
county, Minnesota, in 1894. Immense quantities of tim- 
ber of more or less value are destroyed, the brush is 
burned to the ground; partially rotted logs and other 
forms of " dow'n timber " are consumed. But these forest 
conflagrations in dry seasons do not stop with the con- 
sumption of the useful trees and the useless wood and 
brush. They burn up the thick mulch of leaves and twigs 
and nearly decayed matter on the surface of the soil, 
which would be valuable if the farmer could save it until 
his plow has turned it under the furrow-slice to become 
useful in forming fertilitv. The damage from fire does 
not even stop here. The heat from the burning wood and 
leaves penetrates and destroys much of the organic mat- 
ter already incorporated among the stony particles of the 



12.S 



I'AKM i)i:\'i:L()r.\ii-:x' 




soil, and even injures Ihe mechanical texture of soils 
already lacking in binding power. The leaves and other 
forms of nearly decayed plant substances are especially 
needed by sandy soils, and it is on our light soils that fires 
most fre(|uently cause permanent loss of fertility. A fire, 
in a very dry season, will consume all the soil covering 

which Nature has been 
slowly accumulating 
for centuries. Even in 
heavy soils all the fine 
humus mulching ma- 
terials should be care- 
fullv i>reserved and 
care should be used to 
select seasons for burning tlie brusli and stump piles 
when the fire will not l)urn up valuable fertilizing 
matter by running over the surface of the ground. 

Removing stones. — Removing stones is largely a 
matter of main strength. Most smaller stones should 
be picked from the sur- 
face by hand or fork as 
they are turned up by 
the plow. The breaking 
plow by no means brings 
them all to the surface 
the first year, but each 
time the field is stirred with the stubble plow a new crop 
of stones comes to the surface. The only way to get 
them all out is to remove them as they are brought to 
the surface, or uncovered by the plow, and not allow 
them again to be covered. When there are only occa- 
sional stones found, the plowman may carry them to the 
end of the field in a small box on the plow, but if there 
are many, a man should follow after the plow, and re- 
move them with the stone boat or wagon. Where the 
stones are thick, a low wagon is best for stones of 




Figure 40. Lnw or liiiiidy wmkoii. 



SUBDUING THE LAND 129 

medium size, and the stone boat for larger ones. (See 
Fig-ures 48, 49 and 50. ) 

Machinery and tools. — A two-wheeled cart, made very- 
strong and with wheels of large diameter, is a useful im- 
plement for swinging up heavy stones and transporting 
them. The requirements in the way of tools, etc., for 
removing and breaking large stones are : Shovels, heavy 
chains to place about the stones, drills and wedges for 
making holes and giant powder or other explosives. 
Drawing the stones out of their settings with a team, like 
skidding logs, is a matter requiring skill, and also a 
steady, strong team. I'sing dynamite laid on the stone 
or some explosive placed in a drill hole and held down 
with tamped clay, while a comparatively simple matter, 
must be learned by experience, else too much expense 
will be entailed for materials, and there will be too much 
danger of accidents from the improper handling of the 
explosives. 

Since stones are often useful, they may be drawn to 
places where they are most available for use. If in 
large numbers and no immediate use is to be made of 
them, they should be compactly piled where they will 
occupy little ^•aluable land, where they will not be un- 
sightly, and in such a manner that they will not harbor 
Aveeds. 

Uses for field stones. — A limited number of field stones 
may be found so useful on the farm where rocks from 
quarries are expensive to secure, that the c(~)st of remov- 
ing them is small compared Avith their value. Material 
for foundations to buildings and for cellar walls may 
thus be secured more cheaply than from a distant stone 
quarry. Bridge abutments, stone arches for smaller 
bridges and culverts, retaining walls, ro-'ds and paths, 
may be made of stones thus collected ; and with fore- 
sight these mav be drawn directly from the field to the 
points at which they are needed. Stones thus secured . 



130 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



Figure 30. Stone boat. 



are useful for the foundation of roads and walks. Ditches 
along the roadside, farm ditches through land which 
readily washes, may be paved cheaply with field stones ; 
and rather than leave the stones in unsightly piles along 
the roadside or throughout the field, it sometimes pays 
to pile them up into fences. The cost of wire fences is 
now so low, howe\er, tliat the labor of piling up stone 
fences and of rej^airing them will not, as a rule, pay 
in the end. 

Removing trees, shrubs and roots from peaty land. — 
Many swamps are covered with trees. Sometimes a 

thick growth, as of 
tamarack or spruce, is 
formed, which is valuable 
for posts, fuel or other 
purposes. Other swamps have scattering trees of small 
size, and in other cases no trees are to be seen, but under- 
neath the upi)er layers of peat arc encountered stum])s. 
roots and logs which greatly impede the work of making 
drains and of cultivation. Where fire can be safely used 
to consume the upper 
3 to 6 inches of peat, 
the stumps and roots 
of standing or decayed 
trees thus uncovered 
may then be easily re- 
moved. The roots of trees growing in peat do not pene- 
trate deeply, but spread out almost horizontally. By 
burning off the covering of moss and peat, the roots and 
stumps are also burned, or arc so exposed that they 
may be freely lifted out of the peat and removed. Any 
stumps, roots or stems of trees of a former time which 
have been covered by the upbuilding of the peat and 
which impede the plow may usually be drawn out by 
hand or team. In case burning is not practicable, as 
where the surface peat cannot be gotten sufficiently dry, 




Figure 51. Hook. A kind of large lioe used 
1 Western German.v to upturn the coarse surface 
eat. ill subduing virsiu moorlands. 



Sri'.DUING THE LAND I3I 

or where it is so dry that there is danger of burning pit 
Iioles in the peat, much force and labor are required to 
pull the trees and stumps out and pile them up for burn- 
ing. Some care is necessary to avoid burning large piles 
of wood on peaty soils, as the fire may make the peat 
beneath so hot and dry that a pit will be burned out, 
and a fire thus started can often only be extinguished 
with great difficulty. In peaty lands which are used 
for pastures, and in some which are used for meadows, 
the slow process of decay may be allowed to remove 
stumps and roots. When the peat is drained, and air 
takes the place of part of the water among the particles 
of peat, decay goes on rapidly. This is in a large part 
due to the presence of the myriads of bacteria which 
thrive in the drier soil and help to decompose the organic 
matter. 

Burning the surface peat as a means of getting rid of 
the coarse, unrotted, recently formed moss and other 
forms of plant life, and of securing a finer soil in the 
better decayed deeper and older peat in which to plant 
crops, is important. The upper 6 to lo inches of newly 
drained peaty land is usually a loose mass of moss and 
may in some instances be burned off. 

Solidifying by pasturing. — Where it is impracticable 
to burn off or to otherwise remove the surface moss 
before sowing tame grass seed, it is dit^cult to secure 
a stand of grasses or clovers. In many instances where 
one is in no haste to subdue fully the peaty land, 
an advantage is gained by having animals pasture on 
it, and thus compact the peat b}^ tram])ing. Animals 
may be encouraged to roam over the fields by sowing 
such pasture plants as red-top, timothy and alsike clover. 
This compacting pre\'ents the development of sphagnum 
or other mosses and forms the surface into a soil-like 
condition, thus giving the grasses a better chance to 
thrive. 



132 



I'A R .\L DEN'liUjP MEN T 



The packinj^' by the feet of animals often results in the 
formation of hummocks which make mowing for hay 
next to impossible, and breaking somewhat difficult. 
Where the land is to remain for some time in pasture, 
these objections have less force. 

Plowing and pulverizing peaty lands is ordinarily done 
with the plows, pulverizers and harrows in ordinary use 
on the farm. Plows might be made that would be 
especially adapted to breaking such land. The share 




Figure 52. Burning surface pe:it in West Germany wliere peaty lands are called 
moorlands. 



should be broad, so that a wide furrow can be made, and 
it should be kept sharp so as to cut ofT roots. The 
coulter should be adapted to cut loose the edge of the 
soft, mossy furrow-slice and to seA'er all but the largest 
roots. AAHiere it is desired to use moorlands for pastures 
or meadows, the complete destruction of wild plants and 
the making of a smooth seed bed is wise, if not too ex- 
pensive. Peaty lands once subdued are cultivated with 
much the same plows and implements used in solid soils. 
Growing crops on peaty lands. — Tn many cases the 
moorland may be broken, sown to llax or oats, and seeded 



SUimUING THE LAND 



133 



down to tame grasses, to remain permanently ; or the 
grass sod may be plowed under after several years, one 
or more crops of flax, oats or other crops grown, and 
the land again seeded down. These soils are usually 
best for producing grasses or vegetables, and are some- 
times used in the cultivation of celery. But if fertilized, 
and the drainage and culti\'ation properly managed, they 
will produce a number of the staple crops. They are 




Figure 53. Plncins bog shoes on a horse. 



not good wheat soils. Oats thrive better than most 
grains, and com for fodder may also be raised on some 
peaty soils. 

Timothy and alsike clo\'er, or timothy alone, will make 
large yields of hay where the water level can be main- 
tained at a point to keep up the proper moisture supply. 
Where the conditions are slightly too wet for these 
crops, red-top will make a good yield of hay of fair 
quality, and on .some marshes too wet for red-top, fair 



134 FARM DKVELOPMENT 

crops of hay from wild .ijrasses are produced. Kentucky 
blue grass seeds should ne\er be sown on lands designed 
for permanent meadow, because this grass grows too 
short for ha\' ; though, owing to its underground root 
stalks, it can. in north temperate regions, crowd out 
most of the better meadow grasses, except in very moist 
soils. The seeds of tame grasses or clover should be 
sown at the North as soon in spring as the land is dry 
enough to allow the seeds to germinate. The seed bed is 
best if made fine and smooth, since this will aid in secur- 
ing at once a goofl sod and an even surface for mowing. In 
many instances it is beneficial to tear up the meadow or 
pasture sod on peaty lands with the disk harrow, so as 
to relieve the sodbound condition, ^^'hile this destroys 
a portion of the plants, those remaining have more room 
and respond to the cultivation. This cultivation should 
usually be done as early in spring as is practicable, or in 
some cases late in the fall. 

Manuring peaty soils. — Extensive experiments at the 
Moor Experiment Station at Bremen, Germany, show 
that peaty lands are benefited by complete fertilizers con- 
taining nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. But it 
was also found that stable manures are superior to com- 
mercial fertilizers for these soils. Peaty lands have an 
overabundance of old inert humus, but often lack the 
mineral ingredients, available nitrogen and the easily 
fermenting vegetable matter of recently applied manures. 
Xo doubt, the stable manure, in addition to supplying 
mineral plant food and nitrogen, brings to the soil many 
useful bacteria, and possil:)ly a better pabulum of food, 
for these minute friends than otherwise exists in the peat. 

Breaking prairie sod. — The time which vast ex- 
perience has proven best for breaking prairie land 
is in the late spring or early summer. During 
the summer and autumn, the perennial plant stores up 
in its roots, crown and stems food with which to start 



-Sl'BDUING THE LAND I35 

its growth the next spring, this food serving the 
plant much as the stored-iip food of the seed 
nourishes the newl}^ born plantlet. In the spring, after 
the plant has drawn upon and used all the stored-up 
food, and before it has had time to lay by a similar 
supply for the next season, is the best time to kill it. 
During this stage the leaves are very actively at work, 
the new growth of roots and stems is succulent, and the 
plant is in no condition to endure, after being cut in two 
and turned with its top buried in the soil and its roots 
exposed to the hot sun. The old portions of the plant 
are in a weak condition, the new succulent parts have 
not as yet become hardy and able to withstand rough 
treatment, and under the influence of the moisture and 
warm temperature of summer, and with conditions 
favorable to the bacterial ferments, the sod will rapidly 
soften and decay. Late in ^Nlay or June, or early in 
July, are the best times for breaking, in the middle North- 
west, and earlier to the southward. The farmers of each 
region soon learn the limits of time before and after 
which the overturned prairie sods do not rot well. 

Prairie sods which are tough and strong, rot best if 
cut only about 3 inches deep, or as shallow as the plow 
can be made to " swim " and do perfect work. On 
lighter lands where the grasses grow in bunches with- 
out forming a continuous sod. or on prairie lands on 
which the sod has been killed or much weakened by 
close pasturing or by the tramping of stock, deeper 
breaking may be done. 

\Miere heavy soils are broken early and shallow, they 
may be " backset " in the autumn so as to secure a fine 
seed bed. In backsetting tough sod, the plow is run in 
the same direction as the breaker ran. and the furrow 
is turned back and with it an inch or more of the sub- 
soil. On lands upon which the sods are not tough, the 
breaking plow or the stubble plow can be run across at 



136 



FA R ^ [ 1 mv liLOP M ENT 




Kiguif 54. Breakii 
rolling LMiultei. 



right angles with the furrows made in breaking, the 
sharp rolling coulter being used to cut the sods cross- 
wise. The earth cut below the first furrow is thrown 
on top by the plow and forms a coating of fine material 
over the tougher sods, and this loose earth is used to 

adxantage in smoothing the 
whole into a fine seed bed. 
Where the sod is very weak 
and the breaking was done 
rather deeply, the disk ]nd\-er- 
izer, the spring-tooth harrow 
or even the common spike-tooth harrow. may give a better 
treatment than to backset, for crops like wdieat, which 
prefer a compact furrow-slice, h^or the cereal grains, 
which need to be sown very early, it is often better to 
complete the preparation of the soil in the fall, ^^'hile 
it is customary to leave most newl}' broken prairie land 
fallow the first year, it ofttimes 
pays to sow a crop of fiax, 
millet, fodder corn or turnips; 
and even beans and potatoes 
may sometimes be profitably 
grown on newly broken prairie where the sod is weak. 
Plows for breaking prairie sod are now so perfected 
that most of the prominent plow firms make breakers 
suited to each section of the country, b'or heax'v work, 
and where stones hinder, single walking breakers arc 
used, or the ordinary gang plow is transformed into a 
breaker by replacing with " lireaker bottoms " the mold- 
boards and shares used for stul)l)le plowing. 

Plows suited to the w^ork of breaking brush or timber 
lands are made on a somewhat different plan from those 
used in prairie breaking. The ]jarts must be stronger, 
to resist the strains in striking stumps and roots. The 
moldboard does not need to be so slanting, since there 
is rarelv a tough sod to turn, and the furrow is usually 




SUr.DUIXG TIIR LAND 



137 



made deeper. Tn [irairie bieakitig- the rolling coulter 
is often preferred ; in timber l)reaking' the standing 
coulter is generally found more satisfactory. Timber 
lands are plowed 4 to 7 inches deep. Holes left by the 
removal of stumps should be first leveled up. The Slush 
Scraper, the Fresno Scraper, or even the Reversible 
Road Machine will do this work in many cases much 
more expeditiously than it can be done by hand. 

Mixing sand into clay soils, or mixing clay or muck 
into sandy soils, is done in some cases, but only where 
the benefit is ^'ery large, so as to repay the cost of 
high-priced labor. Spreading sand over marshes de- 
signed for cranberries, has been found to pay, where 
the conditions are such that this greatly increases the 
yields of the cranberries. And in rare cases mucky 
lands which were too wet for tame grasses, as beside a 
stream, have been made into very productive soils by 
the addition of a thin coating of sand. With modern 
machinery, earth may be moved 
much more cheaply than for- 
merly, and the ameliorating of 
inhospitable soils may eventu- 
ally become more common, 
though now good lands are so 
low in price that only for small 
areas, and for very especial pur- 
pose, will it pay to haul heavy 
earthy materials to mix with the """ '"'"'''' ^"''""''■ 
soil. Carting dried peat into barns or into manure cellars, 
or mixing it directly into the compost heaps, is often 
profitable, as it decomposes there and aids in conserv- 
ing the fertilizing constituents of the vegetable manures, 
and when placed on the land adds somewhat to the 
humus-making substances. 

Alkali Soils. — One of the troublesome and but par- 
tially solved problems is the treatment of soils which 




plow 



138 . FARM DEVELOPMENT 

have an excess of soluble alkaline compounds. Flood- 
ing the land, and then drawing off the water after it 
has dissolved a quantity of alkali, is a plan 
which has been suggested for heavy, flat lands, but it 
is not practicable in most cases. Dressing heavily with 
rotted barn manure has a temporary, beneficial effect, 
as has also sometimes burning a thick layer of straw 
upon the soil and thus charring the surface. 

Irrigating the alkaline soil with a surplus of water 
which is carried off by means of underground drains, is 
an expensive method of leaching out the excess of salts, 
which is successfully used in some districts where irriga- 
tion is practiced. Irrigation may, in many cases, in- 
crease the injurious effects of alkali by supplying to the 
soil large amounts of water which sink down to only a 
short depth and are returned to the surface by capillary 
action. Upon evaporation, this water deposits, or leaves, 
at the surface of the soil, soluble salts which it absorbed 
from the subsoil. The water in passing down through 
the soil goes so rapidly that it does not again dissolve 
all these soluble salts, and thus they gradually accumu- 
late in the furrow-slice, and the roots of the plant are 
obliged to feed in a soil too strongly impregnated with 
the substances which, in smaller quantities, would allow 
them to thrive and grow. Seepage waters coming 
through pervious layers of earth, from higher areas, and 
moistening hillsides or lower areas, often, upon evaporat- 
ing, leave alkaline deposits resulting in " alkali spots." 
Under-drains and open ditches, to divert the seepage 
water, are sometimes effective in preventing the ac- 
cumulation of alkali on the surface or in remedying 
alkalinity. 

Terracing hillsides is sometimes done in fields of con- 
siderable size. In gardens it is frequently resorted to, 
that cultivation may be made easier, to prevent the soils 
being furrowed out so badly by the waters washing down 



SlLiDUING TllIC LAXD 1 39 

tlie hillsides, and as an aid in making it practical to use 
irrigating" waters. In many of the southern states ter- 
racing is practiced extensively on the large general fields 
devoted to cotton, corn and other crops. In many cases 
where terracing has not been done, the fields are so badly 
gullied that they are ruined for field crop cultivation. 
By terracing, the water is conducted gently sidewise and 
thus carried slowdy around the hills and down the slopes, 
without forming streams wdiich wash out gullies in the 
easilv eroded subsoil. 



CHAPTER IX 
DRAINAGE 

The work of crop production is nearly all concerned 
with classes of plants which ha\e been evolved throui^h 
cycles of ages on soils containing only capillary water. 
Our field crops, garden crops, fruit, forest and orna- 
mental trees are nearly all accustomed to soils in which 
the ground water does not rise within several feet of the 
surface. The ground water rising to, or nearl_v to, the sur- 
face, even for short intervals, reduces the yields of many 
crops. In ^•ery few cases, indeed, are the crops made 
less producti\'e by systems of drainage which rapidly 
remove all ground water from the soil to the depth of 
several feet. 

Taken in its entirety, land drainage is of vast im- 
portance. There are many large areas, in some cases 
hundreds of miles across, from which standing water 
must be removed, or which must be protected from oft- 
recurring flood water. There are large areas, including 
a few or many farms, for which drainage systems must 
be constructed bv the vohmtary co-operation of the 
owners, or b}- the county or state, with cost and benefits 
equalized among the owners. Hut the larger total of final 
expense is the drainage within the millions of farms, 
whether into a natural outlet or into an outlet provided 
by large community drains. 

There is great variety of conditions where drainage 
will pay, ranging from the dee]) pond to the hillside 
which, onlv in occasional years of unusual rainfall is so 
wet as to reduce crop yields. l^he wet sloughs, or 
bottoms, along streams, the nearly level bottom lands, 
and the heavy clay lands constitute the bulk of the 

140 



j)K.\i.\A(;i': T4T 

lands iicediiiL;' di'aiiia.L^c : llmuj^li the ponds, secpy hill 
sides, alkali areas under irrig"ation and other miniM 
classes of areas are also larg-e in the aggregate. The 
\-alues now going to waste in lands which, on account 
of too much water, are not under culti\ation, or are not 
yielding the full return on the capital and labor in- 
^'ested in their culti\'ation. is represented by hundreds 
of millions, if not l)y billions of dollars, in the United 
States alone. 

The writer knows of no cases where the in\estment 
in well-constructed drains, on lands clearly needing 
drainage, has not proven profitable. On the Avhole, there 
has been far too much conservatism in draining out the 
wet places on the farm, and in co-operative efforts of 
individuals and public agencies in promoting and build- 
ing community drains. 

There are very few forms of property in which money 
can be more safely invested than in lands which have 
been properly reclaimed by drainage. Underdrains of 
tile are nearly as permanent forms of wealth as the soil 
itself. 

Lands needing drainage. — Those soils need draining 
which are too wet for the crops we wish to grow on them, 
though some of these may not pay for draining, es- 
pecially if they are so situated that the cost per acre will 
be large. Fields requiring draining may be mentioned 
under the following heads : 

Slough. — Low, flat areas over which the water usually 
flows in a sluggish manner, seeping through the surface 
and passing away slowly, are common in nearly all 
neighborhoods, and many farms have one or more of 
them. Removing obstructions from the sloughs, or plow- 
ing them so as to permit the surface water to flow more 
freely, will often make these low areas sufficiently dry 
for the cultivation of cro])s in rotation or, at least, for 
the growing of useful meadows of cultivated grasses. 



142 FAK.M 1)I:V1':L01'.MENT 

Cultivating' lands which drain into sloughs sometimes 
results in so much less water seeping downward into 
the slough that it does not thereafter need drainage. 
The cultivation evidently results in more of the water 
l^ercolating into, and being stored in, the upper several 
feet of the surface of fields and being from there trans- 
pired back into the air by the rapidly growing plants, 
which usually are more luxuriant than were the native 
grasses or other native plants. 

Ponds, swamps and sink holes. — Glaciers, in some 
northern districts, in depositing debris, glacial water in 
assorting and spreading out the solid materials, and 
Avater from snow and rain where there was no glacier, 
have caused many flat or saucer-shaped places to be 
formed on the surface of the land. If beneath these low 
areas there are layers of impervious clay, water accu- 
mulates, making them too wet for the growing of cul- 
tivated crops. Drainage through open ditches, tile 
drains, or \'ertical drains, must be resorted to for the 
removal of surplus water which accumulates in these 
places. In some cases these low areas are so situated 
that drainage is impractical or too expensive to be 
profitably executed. 

Lake borders. — ]\lany lakes are bordered by lands 
which lie at or very little above the level of lake water. 
These may l)e drained by lowering the lake, or, in some 
cases, conducting the surplus water away from the lake. 
In many cases it is impractical to drain these lands. 
The government holds that bodies of water of consider- 
able size belong to the public at large and not to private 
individuals. A\'hen the national government surveys 
new territory preparatory to its settlement, all water 
areas of considerable depth and size are carefully sur- 
veyed and their borders are accurately mapped by the 
surveyors. This surveying and mapping is called 
" meandering." and no one has a right to lower the 



DRAINAGE I 43 

water in a meandered lake without consent. Where the 
area of low land lies along the stream through which 
the lake discharges its supply of water, it is often prac- 
ticable to construct surface or tile drains which will dis- 
charge their water at some point down the stream. 
\\'here low areas lie on the side of the lake opposite 
the outlet, and higher land rises behind them, there is 
usually no chance for an outlet away froiu the lake, and 
owing to these difficulties many of these lands cannot 
well be drained, \\niere such areas are large and valu- 
able, however, they may be drained by a system of 
dikes, drains and pumping machinery, conducting the 
water through ditches to a low point near the lake, and 
then elevating it over the embankments by pumps oper- 
ated by steam or other power. Large areas of land in 
Holland have been thus reclaimed from the sea. and 
much more is now being reclaimed at great expense. 
The streams which pass through these " Netherlands " 
are conducted to the sea by means of large embankments, 
called dikes, and not allowed to overflow their banks 
and thus spread out over the fields, even in times of 
floods, so that all of the water that it is necessary to 
pump out over the embankments is that which actually 
falls upon the land. These flat lands are so rich that 
this trouble and expense have well repaid the thrifty 
people of Holland. As our country becomes more 
densely populated, the areas which we will thus reclaim 
will increase. The great irrigation projects of the West 
are bringing us, also, to see that very large diking and 
draining projects are feasible and may be profitable. 

Springy hillsides. — Since the earth composing hills is 
often deposited in layers, the water which penetrates the 
soil on higher portions of the land is often arrested in 
its downward course by an impervious layer of clay or 
rock. If above the dense stratum there is a layer of sand, 
gravel or mixed earth, throngh which the water can seep 



144 I'AK.M i)i':vi:i.()i'.\ii:.\ r 

sidcAvlsc. il ii;ilur;illy seeks ils li)\vesl le\'el aiul follows 
the slo])c <il I he layer of cla_\ or stone. If this imper- 
vious layer extends out to the side of a hill, the water 
flows out and spreads throug'h the surface soil of the 
hillside. Since this flow of spring water is more or less 
constant, it may keep a considerable layer of the surface 
of the hillside or level land beyond the hill, or of a de- 
pression into which it runs, so wet that there is too 
much water in the soil for cultivated plants, and only 
sedges and other water-loving plants will grow. If 
there is considerable of this water centered in one point, 
w^e term it a spring. In some cases the spring water 
oozes slowly out over a wide area; in other cases it 
flows gently from one place ; and in others it bubbles 
upward as if confined between an upper and a lower im- 
pervious stratum and had broken a passageway through 
the upper one, and thus finding an outlet had centered 
in a spring. Some springy hillsides have been so long 
kept thoroughly saturated with water that the dead 
roots, stems and leaves of plants have been preserved 
and a layer of peat has been formed. 

Flat lands. — Lands which have not a natural sU^pe are 
often kept wet by more rain falling on them than runs 
ofif or is exaporated. Thus, in Louisiana, a large area of 
land, made up of deposits from the Mississippi river, is 
flat and must be drained to be adapted to the growth of 
cultivated crops. In the valley of the Red River of 
the North, in Minnesota, Xorth Dakota and INIanitoba. 
likewise, there is a large level area formed by deposits 
of coarse till and on top of this a fine clay from the 
great glacier. This was deposited while that area was 
covered by what is now known as " Ancient Lake 
Agassiz." (See Figure 7.) In Illinois. Indiana and 
Iowa, there are large level areas from which the natural 
rainfall is not removed with sufficient rapidity by natural 
drainage and evaporation to make them suitable for the 



DRAINAGE 145 

most profitable cropping, and in other States north and 
south there are larger or smaller areas of flat lands 
which need draining. 

Side flooding. — Along rivers and streams there are 
areas which are subject to flooding by the streams rising 
and flowing out over the banks. There are other areas 
where there are no w^ell-defined streams which receive 
the flood water from the surrounding lands, and are thus 
made too w^et from the lack of suitable channels in which 
the water can run off. In sections where the drouth is 
excessive, as in the semi-arid regions of the west, lands 
which receive flood water have a great advantage, since 
they are thus naturally irrigated, and in that dry climate 
the water does not usually stand on them so long as to 
kill out the plants. But in regions of considerable rain- 
fall, it is generally desirable to prevent water from 
higher lands flowing over the fields used for cultivated 
crops, depending only upon the rain which falls directly 
upon each acre. The Nile valley in Egypt is an excellent 
example of the lands naturally irrigated and also fer- 
tilized by annual deposits of mud. 

Localities especially needing drainage. — Some districts 
need drainage only on small areas, each drain confined 
to one, or, at most, a few neighboring farms. In other 
cases the drainage becomes a large problem concerning 
one or more countries. Thus, in the valley of the Red 
River of the North, there is a flat area 75 miles by 300 
or more, covering several counties in Minnesota and 
North Dakota, and a large area in ]\Ianitoba which need 
draining of flood water. Here are many conditions 
which require co-operation of neighboring farmers of 
an entire township, or several townships, and, in some 
cases, two or more counties. The problem in that 
region has been such a large one that the State of Min- 
nesota has appropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars 
to aid in constructing very large main drains into which 



146 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

the counties and townships may run smaller drains, and 
with which the farmers, in turn, may connect their farm 
drains. Even the aid of the United States has been 
invoked, and there may prove to be sufficient cause for 
co-operation between the United States and Canada. In 
northeast Minnesota are large peaty swamps, in some 
cases covering many thousands of acres. These cannot 
well be drained by individual farmers, since no farmer 
can get an outlet unless a general canal is built, into 
Avhich he can conduct his farm drains. Minnesota, fol- 
lowing Illinois, Ohio,* Indiana and other older States, 
has recognized the need of the county and even the State 
co-operating with the farmers in constructing large 
drains, and the State legislature has passed laws under 
which landowners, townships and counties may organ- 
ize into associations co-operating in the drainage of large 
districts. 

Cost and profits must be carefully studied. — Where 
good lands are low in price, drainage must be done at 
slight expense per acre to justify the in^•estment. On 
the other hand, where the lands are valuable, consider- 
able expense may be put into open and tile drains and 
a profit made from the investment. In most cases drain- 
ing of the really wet lands can be done for a sum far less 
than the increased value produced. Surface drains can 
often be used to reclaim land, the increased value of 
which will represent many times the cost of the drain. 
In some cases a single drain will carry the water ofif, or 
keep it ofif, a large area, as in a wide slough ; while in 
other cases, in sections where there is a heavy rainfall, 
open or tile drains are necessarily placed close together. 
Since tile draining is quite expensive, it usually pays 
only where the drained lands are relatively high in price, 

*The revised drainage law of Ohio is regarded as being a model 
of its kind; under it great drainage projects have been put into 
oneration at a remarkably low cost and with equitable adjustment 
iif bntli jmblic and private interests. 



DRAINAGE 147 

$40 per acre or upwards. There are practical cases, how- 
ever, where tile drains pay on cheap lands, as where one 
line of tile will carry off the water from a large area. 
The judgment of an expert is often worth securing to 
determine \\hether the probable profits will be sufficient 
to warrant the expense of a drain, as well as to plan the 
proposed drain. 

How to determine where drainage is needed. — The 
farmer who sees his lands from season to season can 
determine the injury to crops, or the difficulty of raising 
desired crops on any wet areas. The purchaser who 
would estimate the need and the probable cost of drain- 
age on lands which he desires to purchase, must depend 
largely upon inspection and upon the credited state- 
ments of those who have observed the land for a series 
of years. If there is water on the surface, if wild plants 
which grow only upon wet soils are found, or if there is 
other evidence that the soil is not suitable for those 
crops which thrive best on arable land, the need of drain- 
ing is easily seen. In some instances useful facts can be 
learned b}' making holes here or there with a spade or a 
posthole auger, and observing, from time to time, the 
height of the ground water in these little wells. By 
studying the soil throughout successi\'e seasons, im- 
portant facts may be learned. Where the land is in cul- 
tivated crops, or even in tame grasses, the effect of the 
water in doubtful areas may easily be studied as aff'ecling 
the health and yield of the crops. Most domesticated 
])lants growing in soil containing more water than they 
need become yellow, do not grow luxuriantly and vield 
but little, and sometimes are killed. 

The area of the watershed which discharges its water 
over any given area must be carefully determined and 
taken into consideration in determining whether the land 
needs draining, so as better to estimate the amount and 
influence of the flood water. Sometimes a simple 



148 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

drain may divert this water so as not to necessitate the 
draining of a large area. 

The stratification of the soil where spring or seepaafe 
water occurs should be studied when ]iractical)lc to do so. 
This can sometimes be done effectivel}' by making holes 
se\'eral feet deep in the wet area with a postholc auger. 

Lands not needing drainage. — AA'here Nature has so 
formed the surface of the ground that tlie excess of 
water easily runs off, or has put together the particles of 
the soil and subsoil so that the water can readily per- 
colate downward, there is usually nothing to be gained 
by a system of drainage. Hillsides witli open subsoils 
do not need drainage. In localities where there is not 
a very large amount of rainfall, drainage has very little 
effect, even in heavy soils on hillsides. 

Level lands through which water can easily percolate 
do not need artificial drainage, since the drainage down- 
ward is sufficient to carry off the excess water. Tt is 
desirable for the water to seep through the soil, rather 
than to run over its surface. 

Hea\'y lands in dry climates, whether rolling or flat, 
usually do not need draining, or only a sufficient amount 
to prevent flooding in case of unusual storms. Here it 
is desirable to let the water from rains lie on the land 
for a short time, giving it an abundance of time to be 
absorbed, and preventing as much from running off the 
surface as possible. The soil and subsoil are great 
reservoirs which must be relied upon to store up water 
to be used during periods of drought. In regions of 
slight or irregular rainfall, it may be advisable to risk 
the crops suffering some during wet periods, even if the 
water stands on the fields. This water will go deep into the 
subsoil and be held available for crops at a future time. 

Drainage and rainfall. — The greater the rainfall the 
greater need there is of drainage. In western Dakota, 
Montana and other semi-arid districts, drainage is very 



DRAINAGE I49 

seldom a problem, except as a mere adjunct to irrigation 
on the relatively small areas where water for the irriga- 
tion can be secured. Most of the denser lower lands 
require either surface or tile draining in regions of much 
rainfall, and some of the more dense soils, even on the 
hillsides, are benefited by removing their excess of water. 
In England, where the rainfall is heavy and the proximity 
to the ocean keeps the air moist, thereby decreasing 
evaporation, a large portion of the land may be drained 
with profit. There, even the hillsides, if the soil is at 
all close in texture, will produce better crops if well tile 
drained. In countries, such as portions of Italy, where 
the rainfall is three or four times as much as in the 
Mississippi valley, the drainage must be very complete. 
The land is ridged so as to carry off" as much of the 
water over the surface as is practicable, and tile drains 
are used to remove the surplus water from the subsoil, 
even in soils not very dense. 

The benefits of drainage are apparent in many ways. 
The individual farmer is greatly benefited, and the neigh- 
borhood is often made more healthful ; and with the 
better profits in farming the entire community and the 
state are built up. Elliot, in his book " Engineering for 
Land Drainage," says that in one Indiana township 
especially needing drainage, averaging for five years 
before drainage and five years after drainage, the yield 
of wheat was increased from 9^^ to 19)4 bushels per 
acre, the yield of corn from 31^4 to 74/4- ^"d that the 
physicians' books showed 1480 calls to visit malarial 
patients for the five years before, and only 490 cases for 
the five years following drainage. Thus the yields of 
crops were doubled and the malarial cases were divided 
by three. IMany individual farms are changed from 
malarial to healthful homes by draining out swampy 
areas. The development of our country means a 
healthier as well as a richer people. 



150 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

The effect on the soil is shown in various ways. — 

IMaiiting and cultivating may be done earlier in the 
spring, which will insure to crops planted in due season 
their maturity before early frosts. Drainage also gives 
the farmer a longer time in which to do his spring work. 
Drainage holds the soil open to the circulation of the 
air, so that oxygen and other gases may act in preparing 
the soil for the plants. Drainage greatly lessens injury 
from " heaving." In Ohio and other states, where the 
peculiar clay soils greatly expand or " heave " upon 
freezing, causing the winter wheat, rye, clover plants, 
etc.. to be broken ofT from their roots, and the crops 
thus injured, drainage removes the excess of water and 
the soils do not expand so much. 

Not the least among the benefits of drainage is that 
it opens the soil to the entrance of the air and makes it 
a better and more healthful home for bacteria, and for 
plant and animal life in general. Drainage adapts soils 
to a greater variety of crops, and a rotation of several 
crops is known to be more profitable than the continuous 
])lanting to one crop. Drainage helps to bring the farm 
up to that ideal which enables us to grow, under system- 
atic rotation plans, those crops which combine to make 
the farm the most profitable. 

Increase of certainty and quality of crops. — Poorly 
drained lands are usually low lying, and are, therefore, 
fair!}- moist, even in dry years. In wet years, if drained 
])roperly, these rich lands raise superior crops. 

A more profitable use of fertilizers is brought about by 
draining the land in sucli a way that there is only a 
])roper amount of capillary water in the soil and that 
there are healthy crops to make good use of the land. 
In case of the application of expensive commercial 
fertilizers to the land, the above is an important 
consideration, and especially so in case of crops which 
rccjuirc a large amount of expensive hand labor and 



DKAIAAGE I5I 

which must yield a large income per acre to pay a net 
profit. 

The land is tilled with more ease and with better 
profits if the excess of water is removed. Draining out 
narrow sloughs, low places inside the field, low areas 
adjacent to other lands, all benefit the farm lands. The 
fields can be made more nearly rectangular, which will 
admit of easier access and of more systematic methods 
of rotation and cultivation. All parts of the field be- 
come sufficiently dry and ready for cultivation in the 
spring and after rains, at one time, thus making it pos- 
sible to employ labor economically and to cultivate the 
soil at a time when its tilth will receive the greatest 
beneficial efi^ect. 

AVater flowing from the mouths of tile drains or in 
open drains may often be conducted to fields or barn- 
yards, there to be a source of water for live stock, or to 
be used for irrigating field, garden or orchard crops. 

The appointment by President Roosevelt of a commis- 
sion to report on the use and improvement of our in- 
ternal waterways, and the reclamation of wet lands, 
may lead to engineering enterprise in drainage, even 
more gigantic than any yet undertaken in this country. 
The discussion of drainage by the agricultural and 
special drainage journals of America demonstrates the 
great interest our farmers are taking in this practical 
question. The making of open ditches has passed from 
the stage of making ditches with the spade to one of 
constructing small and large canals and dikes by means 
of machinery. The making of underground ditches has 
rapidly passed from the making of covered drains by 
using stone or boards, to drains with factory-made 
cylindrical or nearly cylindrical tiles most carefully 
placed in the ground, sometimes by means of tile-laying 
machinery. In some states, as in level, wet sections 
of Indiana an(l Illinois, tliere are numerous tile factories 



152 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

ill each county, and the farmers there have gradually 
laid tiles on acre after acre until nearly the entire wet 
area is underdrained, transforming' both the agriculture 
and the sanitation of entire counties. While machinery 
for laying tiles has been highly developed, for many 
conditions the spade continues to be the chief imple- 
ment in opening tile drains. 

Injury of tiles by freezing. — In the southern half of the 
United States there is no danger of frost injuring tile 
drains. In the extreme northern portions of the country, 
however, where the earth sometimes freezes to the depth 
of six or eight feet, the question often arises whether tiles 
laid two to five feet deep will be ruined by the frost. 
Where an outlet can be secured so that the water will 
run freely from the properly laid tiles, there is little 
danger that sufficient water will remain in them to break 
the tiles by its expansion under freezing. Where the 
outlet must be very low, sometimes beneath the water 
in a pond or stream, the tiles may be full of water when 
the ground freezes, and in this case its expansion within 
the tiles may cause them to be split. This may also occur 
in case the tiles have not been laid on an even down- 
ward grade, so that the water will not run out of the 
low sections of the drain. Likewise, where the tiles 
have been laid in peaty lands which, upon drying out, 
shrink and settle more in some areas than in others, 
thus making the line of grade uneven, freezing may work 
injury. The actual places on record where freezing of 
water within the tiles has caused them to crumble down 
and become clogged up and useless, are, indeed, very 
few, even in states as far north as Minnesota. No doubt, 
in many cases, where the water upon freezing expands 
within the tile causing it to break, it simply cracks length- 
wise, or a number of cracks are produced in such a 
manner that the pieces all remain in position. The 
expansion of the ice does not usually cause the pieces to 



DRAINAGE 153 

Spread far enough apart to allow them to fall in and 
obstruct the water. They are held in position by the 
weight placed upon them by the surrounding earth as 
the stones in an arch are held. 

Drainage legislation. — Along with the development of 
the theory of drainage, of drainage machinery and of 
drainage work, there has been a development of laws 
relating to the subject. Since the flood water and the 
drainage water run from farm to farm, it ofttimes hap- 
pens that one man cannot drain his land unless his 
neighbor allows him an outlet, or, perhaps, joins with 
him in making a system of drainage including the wet 
lands of both farms. In other cases, numerous farms 
are concerned in one system of drainage. A common 
ditch may be required to carry off the water from the 
several farms. This requires concerted action, since it 
is unfair that one, or even several, of the number inter- 
ested should bear the large initial expense which should 
be shared by all who are benefited. 

Most of those states in which considerable drainage 
is needed have devised laws under which a majority of 
the landowners in any area needing drainage can, under 
the law, bring about co-operation of all landowners in 
the payment of the expense of general drains. These 
laws are made to operate through township or county 
ofificers, usually through the boards of county super- 
visors or commissioners. Those landowners who de- 
sire the drain may present a petition to the board, which 
decides whether the project shall be undertaken, and, if 
so. arranges to carry forward the work and assesses the 
costs to the respective landowners. The law designates 
that a certain area be surveved, and, if it be found prac- 
ticable, drained under the drainage law. Generally the 
board is required to anpoint viewers, and to supply them 
with the services of a competent drainage engineer. 
These viewers take into consideration the need of the 



154 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

drainage, and after Inning made a plan of tiie drains, 
estimate its cost and apportion the cost to the varions 
persons interested. In some cases the apportionment 
of the cost is left nntil the drains are complete and the 
actnal cost is known. The apportionment of the entire 
cost is made among all the farmers in proportion to their 
respective benefits. In rare cases the constrnction of a 
large drain injnres a portion of the land through which 
it passes, and in such cases damages may be allowed. 
In cases where individual landowners feel that they 
have been assessed for more than their just share of 
the cost of the drains, they may appeal to the board of 
county commissioners for a reduction. In case of fail- 
ing to receive what thev consider justice, they may appeal 
to the proper court, which, upon hearing both sides, 
makes its decision as to the actnal amount of the total 
expense which the appealing landholder shall 1)e re- 
Cjuired to pay. 

As a rule, the board of county commissioners has 
charge of the construction of the drain. They may 
revise the plan of the engineer, readjust the findings of 
the viewers, as to the boundaries of the drainage district 
and as to the proportion of assessment against each 
benefited landholder. In many counties the boards of 
county commissioners issue bonds with wdiich to pay 
the expenses of the drainage, and Avhen the drain is 
completed, require the proper county ofBcer to assess 
the entire cost of the drain upon the owners of the 
benefited land, ^^^^ere the drain is constructed under 
a contractor the board of county commissioners appoints 
the county engineer or some other competent person to 
superintend the work of the contractor, under a properly 
written contract and specifications, that the work may be 
thoroughly carried out. In manv counties the board of 
commissioners employs a superintendent of constrnction 
and supplies him with laborers and materials. In some 



DRAINAGE 155 

rases the county assumes the entire or partial cost of 
drains, and in other cases the state furnishes part or all 
n\ the means with which to carry out a large amount of 
drainage work. Wherever the county or state furnishes 
part of the means for constructing the drains, it wisely 
retains at least partial supervision of the expenditures 
and of the future maintenance of the drains. 

Private drains. — Legal questions often arise in making 
private drains. As a general legal proposition, no one 
has a right to interfere with natural drainage in a way 
that shall injure the property of another. Thus, no 
farmer has the right to discharge the water from a drain 
upon the land of another in such a way that the flooding 
of his lands shall be increased or occur at a different 
time, or in a different place, than would naturally occur. 
Neither has one person the right to make embankments 
to prevent his own lands flooding and thereby retard the 
water flowing naturally from the fields of his neighbor. 
Bitter litigation and neighborhood quarrels of a most 
disagreeable and disastrous kind often arise from the 
failure of neighbors to adjust properly these matters of 
drainage in a friendly and peaceable manner. In matters 
of this kind, there is entirely too much effort to get the 
better of the neighbor, or too much anxiety lest the 
neighbor get the advantage. It is far wiser to con- 
cede much more than is fair than to become involved 
in a quarrel, and possibly in legal difficulties, which will 
destroy the peace of the neighborhood, and surely cost 
both parties many times as much as either one would 
have had to sacrifice in effecting a peaceable adjustment. 
Arbitration is becoming much more popular in the world, 
and here is one of the places where it should nearly 
always prevail in case of disagreement. Persons asked 
to serve as arbitrators in difficult matters of this kind 
have an opportunity to do a patriotic service, not only 
to the parties involved, but to the neighborhood, and 



T56 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

they should courageously accept the responsibility and 
try to bring- about an adjustment which may reasonably 
satisfy both parties. Laws encouraging, or almost enforc- 
ing, arbitration in such matters would be largely useful 
and should be devised and enacted. A normal public 
sentiment which would almost force people into arbitra- 
tion would make for harmony and civilization. 

SURVEYING AND MECHANICAL APPLIANCES 

The making of drains is an engineering problem and 
the theory must precede the practical work. The plan 
should be carefully devised, that the work, when com- 
pleted, may be effective. The drains should be so located 
that they will conduct the water from all portions of the 
wet areas. They should be placed at the proper depth, 
and have the proper grades, so that the water will run 
evenly and be carried rapidly to its destination. The 
number of drains or branch drains should be sufficient 
to carry off the surface water. They should be placed 
at that depth which will effectively improve the soil, 
but not so deep as to make the construction of the 
drains too expensive. 

If the system of drainage is very simple and the slope 
of the land ample to give sufficient fall, the plan may 
be easily made. In many such cases instruments for 
measuring and leveling are not necessary. The farmer's 
knowledge of the land, or even a " bird's-eye " survey 
may be sufficient. In other cases, the system may be 
very extensive, the grade very slight, the expense large 
and the need of accuracy imperative. Here the assist- 
ance of a competent drainage engineer with his measur- 
ing and leveling instruments, and his methods of cal- 
culation should be employed. He should have a 
practical knowledge of the local rainfall, ability to 
estimate the flood water which must be taken care of, 



DRAINAGE 



157 



an intimate acquaintance with the character of the sub- 
soil, experience in calculating" and in judging what size 
to make open ditches and what size of drain tiles to use. 




Figure 57. Surveyor's transit. 



He should also have tactful ability to deal with the 
parties interested in co-operative drainage, and this is 
quite as much needed in the enterprise as his technical 
knowledge. 



158 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



Surveying instruments. — In planning drainage requir- 
ing the services of a competent engineer, a number ol" 
instruments are needed. These are ilhistrated in various 
figures accompanying the text. Xotes under the figures 
describe the instruments and gi^'e some instructions as 
to their use. Tlie fanner needs to know more of the 




Figure 58 shows a 20-iiich wye level, such as is used by engineers for rail- 
road surveying, wagon road surveying and in all drainage surveying where 
great accuracy is required. The instrument is mounted on a tripod and the 
operator spreads the legs :; feet apart, more or less, to bring the telescope even 
with his eye when slightly stooping. The tripod should be so adjusted that the 
plate A is in a nearly horizontal position. Turn the telescope so that it rests 
above two opposite thumb screws, as B. ('. With the thumb and forefinger 
turn these two screws both toward center or both away from center, until the 
bubble in the spirit level is in the center at ]>. Now turn the telescope at 
right angles to its former position so as to be above the other two thumb 
screws. Turn these screws until the bubble indicates that the telescope is 
again level. It is wise to turn the instrument the second time over B and C 
to see that its adjustment is level, and In the course of taking levels the bulb 
should frequently be inspected and leveled up. especially if the tripod is not 
firmly placed on solid ground, or if the tripod or the instrument has been in 
the least jarred out of its position. The use of the set screw at E Is to re- 
strain the telescope from revolving and the alignment screw at F is used to 
make slight changes in revolving the telescope in line with a leveling rod or 
with a desired line of stakes upon which levels are to be taken. 



engineer's technique, that he may better understand the 
work and that he may be more liberal in employing the 
trained engineer when needed. 

The transit is necessary in planning large drainage 
enterprises. It is used in locating the line and in deter- 
mining the angles at which branch lines leave the main 
lines. The use of the transit is not very difficult for one 
who has a knowledefc of al^'ebra. creometrv and trio"o- 



DRAlNAGli 



159 



nometr}-. and c\en persons witli only a knowledge of 
arithmetic, with a moderate amount of technical instruc- 
tion, can make use of it to a limited extent. Tt is an 
instrument for the use of the engineer, however, rather 
than for the use of those who are not specialists in the 
line of surveying. Transits, such as professional en- 
gineers use, are scientific optical instruments of a high 
order and are expensive, costing about $200. There are 
cheaper instruments, and also less expensive combined 
forms of level and transit for the use of farmers. These 
cost about $50. The farmer who has been well trained 
in an agricultural school, or wdio has otherwise learned 
the use of surveying instruments, can do his own work 
in small drainage projects cheaply and well. By means 
of the transit a permanent record may be made, showing 
on a plat of the 
land through 
which drains 
pass the exact 
location of the 
drainage lines. 
In most cases 
such records 
and plats may 
be made from 
measurements 
without the use 
of a> transit. 

A map or 

drawing of the system should be made, locating section 
corners of the government survey, where that is prac- 
ticable. Points or lines from which to measure the 
various lines of the drains, and their point of junction 
and their extremities, may be definitely located in relation 
to certain natural objects or artificial monuments, as 
the lines subdividing the section, or monuments mark- 




Figure .'iil. Leveling instrument on which siglits are nttached 
to a common pocket, or hetter, a mason's spirit level. T, 
thumbscrew; H, hinge. 



i6o 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



ing the corners of farms and- recorded in a drawing or 
drainage map. By placing the distances and angles on 
this map, any underdrain can be located at any point 
at any future time, by again measuring from the given 
points and base lines. (See Transit in Figure 58.) 

Leveling instruments are even more generally useful 
and necessary, in planning and constructing drains, than 
the transit. Very often they are necessary to aid in 
getting the general level of the land so as to determine 

where to locate the 
- drains so as best to 
reach wet areas and 
carry off the water in 
the most effective man- 
ner with the minimum 
cost of construction. 
For example, in the 
Valley of the Red River 
of the North a drainage 
engineer was employed 
to lay out a general plan 
of drainage. The land 

Figure 60. Mason's level placed on tripod and waS SO UCarlv IcVCl in an 
supplied with sights. 

area 40 by 100 miles that, 
with his assisting engineers, he surveyed east from the 
Red River of the North through this district, taking 
the level at every section corner and also at half mile 
posts along all east and west section lines. When all 
this had been done, the figures representing the height 
of each point above datum plane* were recorded on a 
map of the entire territory. By examining these figures, 
the engineer was able to map out all the low areas 
through which large drainage canals were needed to 




*A datum plane is an imag-inary level plane used as a basis for 
comparing: the heights of points at or near the surface of the ground. 
It is usually assumed 100 or 1.000 feet below some stated point or 
sea level. 



DRAINAGE 



i6i 



give an outlet for smaller canals and for needed farm 
and roadside ditches. 

A general map thus made was published in a pamphlet 
and has been of great use to the counties, townships and 
farmers co-operating in the drainage of these lands. 
A copy of a portion of this map is shown in Figure 70, 
page 167. In some low areas of much less size, even in 
single fields, it is necessary to take levels at various 
points, or, as the engineer says, " cross section the field," 
so as to map the 
contour or ele- 
vation of the en- 
tire area and thus 
decide where 

drains are neces- 
sary and prac- 
tical. The level is 
a necessity also 
in determining 
the rates of fall 
and the grades 
that should be 
given to the 
ditch or tile 
drain where the 
grades are so 
nearly level that 
they must be 
very accurately 
made. It is 
often needed, while constructing the drain, to see 
that the bottom of the ditch is at the right depth 
at the various points. For draining small areas it is 
often unnecessary to use an expensive instrument, as 
the home-made instruments shown in Figures 59-61. 
may serve the purpose. 




Figure Oil rcpieseiits :i simple form of home-made leveling in- 
strument wliieli is useful where great accuracy is not required. 
F is a tube of tin or of gas pipe. At either end of the tube a 
glass tube. G, a few inches long, is inserted. Colored water 
is poured in so as to rise nearly to the corks in tlie tubes. A 
front and a back sight, as SS, or another form of sight, may 
be adjusted so as to be easily placed level with the top of the 
colored liquid in cither glass tube. At H is sliown a form ( f 
joint in the stem connecting the level with the tripod. With 
this the instrument can be placed so nearly level that the 
water stands at the point desired in each glass tube. This level 
does not require adjusting, but it is not accurate for long dis- 
tances on drains which are nearly level, though in the hands 
of a careful man it may be found useful under circumstances 
where a better instrument is not available. 



1 62 



FARM DliVELUi'MEXT 



Chains, tapes, rods, stakes, etc.-^-The surveyor's chain, 
folded, is shown in Figures 63 and 64. Chains are usually 
four rods (66 feet), sometimes 100 feet in length. 
The surveyor's band chain of steel is shown in Figure 
62. It is now commonly used by engineers, being made 
lighter and more accurate than the steel chain. 

Note books and blank forms. — All measurements and 
surveys should be accurately recorded in such form that 
they will not only be useful in 
planning and constructing the 
drain, but will serve as a per- 
manent record. If the drain does 
not work properly, some fault in 
tlie figuring or calculations may be 
found, in which case the records 
will be useful. Should the drain 
at any time get out of repair, the 
original notes may be useful in its 
repair or reconstruction. Notes of 
the location of underdrains are 
especially valuable as permanent 
J^J^hii^^i^l^i^'ort i-ecords for use when wishing to 
^^'^c^L^ri:^ ^ ^^^Z locate obstructions in tile drains. 

detached fioiii the reel. It has TTJnr,,,-^ Qt r^^-r^r. r> -f^^.™ <-„ U„ ..„^ 1 
handles similar to those used on rlgUrC »I glVCS SL lOrm tO bC USCd 
cbains. It Is not so convenient • j- a_i i i , i 

as the link chain, but is accu- ui rccording the Icvcls taken m 

rate, even serving as a standard /- j • . i i r i 

with which to compare the link tindUlg tllC DCSt COUrse for the prO- 

chain, that its length may oc- , , . , ' 

casionaiiy be tested, and, if poscd dram, as wcll as the date 

necessary, corrected. ^ _ \ <•**>- v^tnv, 

used in making calculations for its 
grade and (le])th. l-'urthermore, in making the drain, 
the level is used in checking for the depth of the ditch at 
various points along its course. An indexed notebook, 
4 X 6 inches, ruled as in Figure S2, is a good place to keep 
the original notes, including the calculations. 

Drainage plats show methods of making drainage 
majjs. A drainage map of a jiortion of the \-alley of the 
Red Ki\er of llie Xorth is slidwn in iMgure 70, The 




DRAINAGE 



163 



figures at the government section corners, 
giving elevations, show the very level char- 
acter of the land. The central portion is a 
great swamp area six by fifteen miles in 
extent. The proposed ditch. A B, collects 
a ■' lost river," which was spread out through 
the low area into a large swamp. The 
proposed ditches, C D, E F and G H, are 
desio-ned to serve as main channels to carrv 




l''igme 133. Surveyor's cliain folded. Very desirable form 
(if chain in weeds, across streams, around curves, and for 
general work. Often incorrect in length, and for accurate 
Hiirk should be compared with steel tape. 

the water toward the Red River. Tributary 
to these main ditches are roadside ditches 
along the section lines and ditches across 
some farms. These farm ditches are here 
usually made broad and fiat with reversible 
road machines. Into these roadside and farm 
ditches, dead furrows are made to lead at 
frequent intervals, b}^ so laying out the plow 
lands as to place the final furrows in favor- 
able places to lead the water off the fields 
and into the field, roadside and main 
ditches. In case of low places a few 
inches to a foot below the general surface 
and from a rod in diameter to many acres 
in area, they are drained by special ditches veyoV's'chaln partly 

' -' -^ ^ folded. 

mto the farm ditches. It is often neces- 
sary in late fall or in early spring to open out all drains 
by removing weeds and dust, or earth, that has 1)l()\vn 



Figurt! 



164 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

into the ditches or has been washed in, that the water 
may move quickly out of all low places, thus allowing 
the soil to dry out for early planting in 
that cold climate. 

In Figure 72, dotted lines show tile drains 
on a large flat area, in a moderately open 
subsoil, in a region where the rainfall is 30 
inches per annum. In case wet years show 
the need in given areas, additional drains 
pin'^S^to mTrk ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ between those provided in this 
chatnmg ^"over" 'I P^au. At A and B are tile drains under 
^^^^' the center of the roadbed in the flat 

area. These connect with the main tile ditch at X. 

Figure y^ shows the plan used in draining a tract of 
480 acres in Iroquois county, Illinois, 
which is generally level, but was. be- 
fore drainage, diversified to some extent by 
ponds which contained water during six 
months of the year. The grades upon 
which the drains were laid were, in some 
cases, one-half inch to 100 feet, varying 
from this to two inches to 100 feet. The 
object of drainage was to fit the land at a 
minimum of expense for the production of 
hay and grains of various kinds. It should 
be observed that the drains were staked 
out in a systematic manner. As shown on 
the plan (Figure y^), each line is designated 
by some name by which it is distinguished 
from others. Its length, as well as its junc- 
tion with other lines, is indicated by the ment"o\ one foot 

. , . . - sections alternately 

Station number or the number of feet from leci and white, 
the outlet point, in each case. This plan 
also illustrates various methods of location and arrange- 
ment of drains ordinarily required. The drains of this tract 
ha\-c been in successful operation for fourteen years, with 



DRAIXAGF. 



165 






no repairs or stoppages of any kind 
during that time. The land is an 
open black soil with joint clay sub- 
sf)il which drains quite readily. The 
final outlets, as shown, are open 
ditches leading to the larger water 
course. — After C. G. Elliott. 

Machinery and implements. — 
Much improvement in machinery 
and implements used in the con- 
struction of drains is constantly 
taking place. There are many situ- 
ations in which machinery cannot 
lie economically employed and hand 
labor must l)e resorted to. Thus 
in peaty lands where roots ob- 
struct the drainage 
plow the earth must 
l)e thrown out of the 
open ditch by means 
of hand tools. Like- 
\\ise in lands where 
stones are encoun 
tered and in short 
ditches where the in- 
troduction of ma- 
chinery is not profit- 
able only hand tools 
are practicable. But 
in the free soils of 
most bottom lands 
of the upper Missis- 
sippi valley and 
other localities, 
machinery, operated 
e\en hv steam, mav 




I'- i g u r e 68. A, 
niiide stake to set 
beside the ditch. B, 
hub to be driven 
with its top even 
nith tlie surface of 
the ground beside 
the tall stake. A, 
to serve as a con- 
stant point upon 
which to rest the 
leveling rod in cases 
whore grp.it accu- 
racy is rc(iuiri'il. 



oH^] g m^ 



G 



Figure ti7. A, side view of 
leveling rotl closed up. for tak- 
ing measurements of points not 
far below the line of sight. B, 
front view of rod closed up. 
When the rod is closed the 
figuies are read on the front 
side through the hole in the 
disk. Figures show the height 
to wliich the disk lias been 
raised to be in the line of 
sight with the eye at the back 
end of the telescope and with 
the horizontal cross-wire. (', 
rod opened up. Tlie disk is 
now set at the top of the rod. 
and the adjusting done with 
the set screw at D. Figures 
are now read on the side of 
the upper section at the up- 
per end of t'le lower section 
of the rod and from top down. 



by horses or oxen or 
be effcctivelv used. 



1 66 



FARM 1)i:vi:lopmi£nt 



Drain tiles. — l''.\tensi\ c cx])criciic(.' in America has \vi\ 
lo the adu|;)tion ol' the cxlindrical drain tile. In h'i^'urc 74 
are sliown drain tiles of the x'arioiis sizes, from 2 inches 
to 12 inclies in diameter. ( )ther forms have been recom- 
mended at eo/foas 

various times, 
but tliere is 
ai)parently no 
advantage of 
these f o r m s 
over the cy- 
lindrical, while 
there arc some 
manifest disad- 
\ a n t a ,^' e s . 
Strai.g"ht tiles, 
3 to 12 inches 
in diameter, 

are u s u a 1 1 y 
made one foot 
liin^', but occa- 
si( mally in two- 
foot Icng'ths : 
while 12 to 24- 
inch tiles are 
made in two- 
foi it lengths. Tiles with a shoulder (as shown in l'"ii;ure 
75), made like sewer pipes, are manufactured in two-foot 
leui^ths, of all sizes. 

Drain tiles are made of clay similar to that used in 
the manufacture of ordinary brick, ddie clay or mixture 
of clay and sand must be of a nature to "burn" tinder 
high heat in such a manner that when the tiles are 
exposed to the action of moisttire ancl frost, they will re- 
main intact and not scale niir crumble. In nearly all 
jiarl'^ (if America whei'e drainage has been nee(led, clays 




(•'i;; 


lie 


:'.!. -M.llJ nf (liaill- 


vi-un 


Ihf 


l"i-;ilii.ii (if a lik' 


■nmli 


s nt 


llic lines and Ih 


11 th 


s li^ 


lie. 'Il.c l..cati..ii . 
.1 lile .Ir.iiiis may ; 


1 nil 


l.sUll 


iiU'iits (iiim llie .sill 


laliel 


1 11. 


ilils. Ill siiiiK' (.■ase> 


liilii' 


K.U 


(if drains l.v .1 |ici 
y l.iiricil. 



A simple i-ilaii of mapiiinn In 
liaiii anil its branches, giving the 
(' .iii'.;lcs nf (liveiKeiiee i.s shinvii 
if iiiiilfis and (if tlie points of in 
ilso be sliown on a map by means 
L's of tlie farm or from other per- 
^ it is pi.ieticable to mark an iii- 
iiiaiieiit iiKininuPiil. as by a laii;r 



DRAINAGE 



167 



liave been found which can be manufactured into good 
tiles. The manufacture of drain tiles requires consider- 
able skill as well as a due amount of business ability. 
Some experimentation is necessary in making drain tiles 
from any untried bed of clay. Chemical analysis is a 
general guide as to whether the clay is of a suitable 




Fiyuio 70. ruitioii of a diaiiui 



nature to " burn " and not be broken to pieces by the 
action of the atmosphere nor by the freezing of the water 
absorbed in the body of the burnt tile. It is always 
wise to ship some of the clay to a factor}- already estab- 
lished and have it tested, with a view of finding methods 
of preparing and burning it, before going to the expense 
of building a factory beside a given clay bed. Very often 
it is necessary to mix together the surface soil and a 
layer of clay lower down. In other cases, a layer of 
mixed sand and clay found near at hand, when put with 
the cl;n' from the main la^'cr, will give a mixture of the 



1 68 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




right quality. In still other cases, a mixture of pure 
sand with the clay is an advantage. All this experi- 
menting incurs expense and should be done by persons 
who have a knowledge of the business. 

Often tile factories have been built where it has been 
found impracticable to make good tiles from the avail- 
able clay, and thus a serious loss has been incurred, 
both to the promoters of the factory, and to the farmers 
who need, in their vicinit}", a factory from which they can 
HILL get tiles at a 

reasonable cost 
and without the 
expense of long 
railroad, water 
or wagon trans- 
portation. Tile 
factories prop- 
erl}^ inaugu- 
rated and oper- 
h a V e 
usually been 
profitable, and there are many new sections in need of 
factories to supply drain tiles with which to improve the 
large areas of wet lands. In some sections of Minnesota, 
for example, the farmers buy tiles from factories so far 
distant that the cost of railway transportation is greater 
than the cost of the tiles at the factory. 

Cost of drain tiles. — Under the conditions of labor at 
the beginning of the twentieth century, three-inch and 
four-inch drain tiles have cost, at the factories where 
large quantities are made under favorable conditions, 
in the neighborhood of $9 and $13, respectively, per 
thousand feet. The table on page 169 shows, relatively, 
the average cost, weight, etc., of drain tiles, as given by a 
manufacturing firm near Elgin. 111., for the several sizes 
ordinarily made from 3 to 15 inches in diameter. 



Figure 71. Urain through poml. with lateral on right to in- 
tercept seepage water from liillside and another on left to drain a t C d 
a flat area. 







DR.MNAGli 




I 




P^-iV^ 


list of drain i 


ilc 




Diameter 


Price 


Branches, 


Area 


Weight 


inside 


per 


each, 


in 


per foot, 


measure 


1000 feet 


cents 


inches 


pounds 


3 


$10.00 


12 


7 


5 


H 


12.50 


14 


n 


5^ 


4 


16.00 


IS 


m 


7 


5 


22.00 


20 


in 


9 


6 


30.00 


25 


28^ 


12 


7 


40.00 


25 


38i 


15 


8 


50.00 


30 


50 


18 


10 


75.00 


40 


78i 


24 


12 


130.00 


80 


113 


32 


15 


200.00 


95 


178 


46 



169 



15 in. tile 2 feet lengths; all other in 1 foot lengths. 

These figures were only general, and were subject to 
a 10 per cent discount, and since the weight of the tiles 
depends upon the character or specific gravity of the 
clay from which the tiles are made and also upon the 
thickness of the walls of the cylinder, they must not be 
taken to apply to particular cases, ^^^lere one wishes 
to figure the cost of transportation on tiles from any 
given factory, he should learn the exact weight of the 
tiles of that particular brand or make. In sending some 
distance for the tiles, quotations should be secured from 
the railway or water transportation company for the rate 
per ton for freight ; or the different factories bidding on 
bills of tiles should be asked to quote prices, including 
the freight, at the farmer's home station. 

Quality of drain tiles. — There is a great difference in 
the quality of drain tiles from different factories, and 
even of the indi^'idual tiles from the same factory or kiln. 
In ordering, one should buy by sample, or on the guar- 
antee of a reputable firm. Where the purchaser can visit 
the factory, judgment can be passed on the quality of the 
tiles. They should be straight and square on the ends 
so as to come close together in the ditch. When two 
tiles are knocked together, they should have a clear ring. 
Cracks in a hard tile are objectionable, but much worse 



1^0 



FARM DEVELOr.MENT 



yeo 


PODS 












1 




1 
\ 
\ 






\ 






\ 






' « j 












; ^ \ 












N 






• 






/ 






y 






, / 


X 


" 






\ 














x^— ' 


"•»^_ 


_ 





— - 


', 














V 




___ 




.^._ 





is the quality of scaling" or crumbling'. The presence 
of lumps or flakes of lime which will slack when wet, 
causes tiles to disintegrate and become worthless. Ques- 
tionable tiles may be tested by placing them where they 

can be partially 
c' o ^■ c r e d by 
water during 
winter and al- 
lowed to freeze 
and thaw re- 
peatedly. Tiles 
that crumble 
by springtime 
when treated 
in this manner 
are not suited 
to tile draining, 
especially in a 
cold climate. 

The best 
drain tiles are 
thoroughly A'itrified throughout, showing that there has 
been some fusing or melting of the clay under the in- 
tense heat of the kiln. Many manufacturers glaze their 
tiles, just as the old-fashioned stone milk crock was 
glazed, by placing salt in the kiln. If the tile is properly 
burned, glazing adds little or nothing to its value, though 
the cost is inconsiderable. The fear entertained by some 
that glazing retards the flow of water through the sub- 
stance of the tile into the drain tile, is not well founded. 
Little water goes through the body of any properly made 
drain tile. There is ample room for the water to seep 
through between the ends of the tiles, and practically all 
of it enters at these places. It is also proven that nearly 
all the water enters the tile at the lower half of the 



;> /x 
/ 

. II-— 

/A— - 



Figure 72. System of tile drains oB a 160-acre farm. 



DKAIXAt;!': 



171 



scAiearnPT 




Figure 73. Map showing the drainage of 480 acres of land in Iroquois county. 111.. 
on which 6n,700 feet of drain tile were laid .'i and 4 feet deep. — Elliott. 

cylinder. Only that water which falls immediately over 
the drain, as a rule, percolates down through from the 
upper side. Water from rain percolates directly dowr- 



T72 



A KM |)i-:\'i-:l()1'ment 



ward from the surface of the ground to the surface of 
the ground water, and then seeps sidewise into the 




f'ommfiii drain tiles. 



stream running through the bottoms of the openings 
tlirough the row of tiles. Since the ground water out- 
side of the tiles is little higher than that inside, the seep- 
age movement is nearly horizontal. 

Survey for Construction 

A\'"hile the general inspection of the land referred 
to on a previous page might result in a choice of the 
approximate location of the main drain and its 
branches, it is necessary, on nearly level land, to 
attend to the details for the exact location of the line 
of the ditch. \A'here a slough or hollow with gentle 
slope is to be drained, it is often wise to supple- 




Figure 75. Uniiiii tiles. 



ment the "bird's-eye" survey with a series of levels taken 
at intervals of 50 or 100 feet along the proposed line of 
the ditch. In some simple cases all that is necessary 
is to determine the height of the land at either end of 



DRAIN AGE 



1/3 



the ditch and the depth of the ditch at these two points. 
Where the line is long and there is a variation in the 
slope of the surface of the ground, however, it is better 
to take a level at each stake placed every 50 to 100 feet 
alongside the line of the proposed drain. A line of levels 




Figure 76 Collared drain tiles or sewer pipes. 



thus taken and figured to express the height above datum, 
as will be explained later on. will serve as a basis for 
locating the exact line and depth of the proposed ditch. 
From the first line of stakes where the levels were taken, 
other levels may be taken at points on either side. A 
new line with slight or considerable deviation from the 
first line may be projected here or there, and by placing 
stakes along the new line and taking several levels, its 
practicability may be compared with the first location. 
In this way the best place for the main drain may be 




Figure 77. Branched collared tiles. 



accurately determined in low areas where the problem is 
a comparatively simple one. 

It is generally wise to have open ditches follow the 
lowest levels. This is especially true in the northern 



174 



FARM DJiVKLOP.MENT 



States, where snow and ice accumulate in open ditches, 
often clogging them when the surface water begins 
to run in the early spring. At the points where 
the open ditch passes through slight elevations of land, 
the snow accumulates by drifting and serves as a dam 
to prevent the early movement of water, whereas, if the 

drain follows 



012 12 ii 



-T 



Ai^blt 12BJI 



the 1 o w est 
le\'el, even if 
the ditch is full 
of snow and 
ice, this soon 
melts or is 
worn away Ijy 
the water from 
the higher sur- 
faces w h i c h 
runs over it. 

A cross sec- 
tion or contour 
survey is some- 
times necessary 
on a nearly 

Figuie 78. Elevalioius nn a Hat 40-iicre field used in Inc-atiuK . 

an open ditch and branch tile drains. The outlet of the open leVCl area. IMg- 
(Iraiu. which is 3.2 feet below the general .surface at A. '^ 

was taken as 100 feet above datum, and all figures show the iiyq 78 reorc- 
elevation of the respective points above that datum plane. ' 1 

sents a 40-acre 
tract. Here, in a large area nearly level and difficult 
to drain, cross-sectToning was found necessary, that the 
main drain might be placed to the best advantage and 
that the least expensive method of laying lateral tile 
drains, to drain the low spots, might 'be devised. This 
level area is shown, with the levels taken every 132 feet 
each way. 

To map out the drains, the contour map may be used 
to great advantage. In many cases, the drains can be 
laid out on this map by studying the map alone ; in other 



DRAINAGE 



175 



cases it will be necessary to traverse the land with map 
in hand, and by inspecting both the map and the land, 
the drains may be placed in the most practicable posi- 
tions. In some cases it will be necessary to accompany 
the g-eneral inspection of the map and land, with meas- 




Figure 79. The curved contour lines, drawn through points of similar elevation, 
show the lieight of each part of the land above the outlet of the drain A. The slope 
of the land is at right angles lo the contour Ihie. 

nrements of the heights of points along the trial lines 
made by leveling instruments, and, where the expense is 
considerable, it will be wise to make profiles showing the 
amount of digging required in case of each of two or 
more ditches projected in the preliminary surveys. 
Since the whole system of drainage must be taken into 



176 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



consideration at one time, the main drain and the prin- 
cipal laterals cannot be fully decided upon, either as to 




-11 1 \r 

I'isure SO. A "section," 640 .-icies, of level land dmiiied by surface drains. 

location or depth, until the laterals have been sufficiently 
measured or inspected to determine whether they will 
properly dischar^^e water into their mains. In case of 



DRAINAGE I 77 

the tract of land shown in Figures 78 and 79, the flood 
water, coming through the northeast portion of the farm 
from farms beyond, necessitates the construction of a 
large open drain. Since water does not flow upon the 
tract from any other watershed of considerable extent, 
it seemed wise to make all other drains by the use of 
the tiles. Thus, while the slough entering the drain from 
the northwest, received some water from the farm be- 
yond, it could best be drained by means of three lines of 
tile entering the open drain. The method of placin|^ the 
drains in flat areas at either side of the open drains in 
the center of the farm illustrates how low areas may be 
reached with economy of labor and tiles. 

Surface drains may sometimes be used to supplement 
tile drains, in countries where the ground freezes deeply. 
Thus, a broad, flat ditch thrown out with the reversible 
road machine, or even a dead furrow, will take the sur- 
face water from a low area before the ground is suf- 
ficiently thawed out to allow it to percolate downward 
to the under drain, and thus permit this low. area to 
become dry as early in the spring as the surrounding 
areas. 

A section of land with surface drains. — In Figure 80 
is shown a section of land drained wholly by surface 
drains. This land is located in the Valley of the Red 
River of the North, some distance from a stream. Since 
there is a fall of only two to four feet per mile from this 
land to the river, it seemed impracticable to use tile 
drains until surface drainage was first thoroughly tried. 
Besides, this land is not often too wet except while frost 
is leaving the ground in the spring. This region being 
far north and the growing season short, it is necessary 
for the best results to get the crops into the ground as 
early in the spring as possible. 

Figure 80 shows the general level character of this 
section of land. The drainage of this section for a prac- 



178 FARxM DEVELOPMENT 

tical farm illustrates numerous problems in the drain- 
age of very flat, dense lands in a cold country. The 
slough or lake, F-G, in flood times, receives a large 
amount of water from the south which overflows its 
eastern banks, spreading out over the farm. With a 
large canal at A-B. this flood water will not overflow 
upon the farm. The figures giving the height of the 
several " forty " corners as compared with the lowest 
point at the middle of the north line, taken as a bench 
mark at 100 feet above datum plane, and the contour 
lines, dividing areas for each foot in height, show the 
direction of the very slight grades in the surface of this 
level farm. This land is very dense and water per- 
colates slowly downward. Further, the level character 
of this land would necessitate tile drains being laid 
with such a slight grade that large-sized tiles would 
be required to carry ofif any considerable amount of 
water, and the cost of the tiles might be so great as to 
make their use impracticable, besides no outlet could be 
secured without carrying the main drain some distance 
to the river through lands belonging to other people. 
It is probable that this land would be materially 
benefited by tile drainage, and ways may be found of 
arranging the outlets for tile drains by extending and 
deepening the large canals being constructed to carry 
ofif the surface waters. Since surface drains could best 
be used in this instance, it was necessary to construct 
them so as to have them work rapidly and efifectively 
very early in the season, and also l)c in repair to remove 
the excess of water at any time throughout the summer. 
This land being nearly level, the gentle slopes were 
easily determined when water was seen standing on 
parts of the land. In this case, cross-sectioning with 
the leveling instruments was hardly necessary, because 
the standing and the flowing water had shown the levels. 
That the reader may better appreciate the very level 



DRAINAGE 179 

character of the main }Dart of this section of land and 
other facts complicating its drainage, on the map ha\'e 
been placed cross-section notes representing levels at 
points 80 rods apart each way. The large slough shown, 
running through the section north by northwest, is really 
a long, narrow, shallow lake without outlet except over 
the nearly level land at the north end. To drain this, 
a large canal A-B. i6 feet wide and 8 to lO feet deep, 
was necessary, and was constructed running from the 
north end of the lake a mile and a half across the nearly 
level country to a river. This canal, if made lo feet 
deep, would be sufficient to drai)i the lake entirely, thus 
transforming it from a shallow lake, which, in a dry 
series of years, becomes entirely dry, into a hollow 
which could be plowed nearly to the center or could be 
used for meadow or pasture. Tile drains could then be 
laid, placing the main outlets in this large drain. 

The surface drainage. — The water on the main part of 
the section may all be carried (nit in one of three ways. 

The lowest point of this farm being at the middle of 
the north line of this section, at E, the flood water de- 
livered at E could 1)est l)e carried away from the farm 
by an open ditch, E-.^, running northeast, following the 
natural depression across the neighboring farm, or could 
l)e carried through a rather d^ep ditch, E-A, westward to 
the canal at A, or it could be carried beyond the north- 
east corner of the farm through hea^'y road ditches and 
thence along the road either to the north or the east to 
the adjacent lower areas at S or K. If carried eastward, the 
water would flow into a new channel at K, and this might 
require the consent of the adjacent landowners. If 
carried northward, D to S. from the northeast corner 
of the farm, it could be emptied into the channel of the 
low area at S, which naturally would carry this water. 
If the discharge were made at the center across the 
adjacent farm toward S. a ditch running northeast across 



l8o FARM ])]i;VELOPMENT 

the neig-hbor"s land wuuld be necessar}', and consent, on 
the part of the neighbor, to construct the ditch would be 
needed. This plan has the advantage in that there are no 
deep ditches to be clogged by ice and snow early in the 
spring. Carrying it westward along the road and dis- 
charging it into the canal seemed to be the most feasible 
plan. This, however, has proven to have the objection 
of not following the lowest levels, but requiring a rather 
deep, narrow ditch through a higher area, thus making 
a place in which the water is held back in early spring 
by the accumulated ice and snow. In most cases, a 
neighbor can be induced to agree to a ditch being made 
through a low area on his land, since it is advantageous 
to him to have his own land better drained and to have 
the flood waters from neighboring lands confined to 
definite channels, which rapidly carry them oiT. It 
would be economy for the owner of the farm to pav for 
the right of wa}^ of this ditch and construct it at his own 
expense, if this were necessary to secure the consent of 
the neighbor. On the other hand, its value to the neigh- 
bor should cause him to give free consent, and even to 
assist in making the ditch and in keeping it in repair. 
This illustrates the many cases where liberal co-opera- 
tion of adjacent landowners is not only necessary to 
efifect a good system of drainage, but is also right as 
between man and man. 

Roadside ditches. — Having now decided upon the way 
of conducting the water from the lowest point at the 
middle of the north side of the section, we come to the 
problem of how best to conduct the surface water to 
this lowest point. This farm being a mile square, the 
public highway bounds it on all sides. By inspecting 
the cross section levels, as recorded in Figure 80, it will 
be seen that the land is highest near the shallow lake. 
This lake often became a stream which sometimes 
overflowed its banks. Doubtless the land adjacent to 



DRAINAGE 161 

the lake was slightly built up from century to century 
by this flood water spreading out in the grass, where it 
rested so quietly as to deposit whatever solid particles 
the flood water had accumulated. This very slight 
increase of fine clay and silt, year after year, was 
probably sufficient to make this portion of the section a 
foot or two higher than the other portions. 

It is interesting to know that in the level valley of the Red 
River of the Xorth. and in the case of many other rivers, 
the land within half a mile of the rivers and streams is 
usually higher than the land some distance back, since 
these ri^'ers frequently overflow ; the cause mentioned 
in the previous paragraph seems to be the explanation. 
Consequenth', there are large, wet. level areas found, from 
a half mile to several miles back from the Red River of 
the North and from the banks of the streams which flow 
into it through that level country. There are, occasion- 
ally, openings in these broad flat banks through which 
the flood water can run into the streams, but these are 
so few and the land is generally so nearly level that the 
drainage, on the whole, is often poor, and must be arti- 
ficialh^ improved much after the manner illustrated in 
the discussion of section of land mentioned in Figure 80. 

In making a plan for surface drains, it was found 
necessary to begin on the south side of the farm, and 
instead of running the water toward the lake, now made 
into a stream or canal, to conduct it along farm ditche.s 
and public road ditches to the lowest point at the center 
of the north line, and from there carry it westward to 
the canal. Thus a large roadside ditch was provided 
around the south, east and north sides of the area to be 
drained. When more expense can be afiforded, a deep 
ditch to carry the water westw^ard along the south side 
of the section will be a valuable improvement. 

By making broad ditches along roads dividing the farm 
into forty and eighty-acre fields, drainage wg,ter from 



1 82 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

this level land is discharged at points along the borders 
of the farm into these ditches, ^^dlile the outside drains 
along- the highway and the Ijroad farm drains leading 
into them, of necessity, have very slight fall, the water 
can pass through them rather quickly, because they are 
broad and wall hold a large volume of moving water. 
The drains inside the farm, conducting the water to these 
large roadside ditches, were placed so as best to conduct 
the water off the land, and they were located Avith refer- 
ence to the arrangement of the fields into wdiich it was 
decided to divide the farm. Thus, the north half of the 
section was di^•ided into four 8o-acre fields, and the 
southeast portion of the farm was dixided into five 40- 
acre fields, with two triangular fields ()n the east border 
of the lake. The triangular ])()rti()n on the w^est side 
of the lake was arranged for a single field and was 
drained in much the same manner as is described for the 
fields of the main portion of the farm. 

The ditches between the se\eral fields were made by 
means of the rcxersible road machine. Instead of mak- 
ing a ditch and throwing I lie earth out on either 
side, two flat ditches were made, throwing the earth to 
the center between them, just as in throwing up a grade 
f(M- a road. This ga\e a place to deposit the earth, with- 
out placing it between the ditch and the level field to be 
drained. Since the very fine textured clay soils of this 
region are often drifted before the wind into the drains, 
this plan makes it practicable to clean the drains out 
occasionally with the road machine and provides a place 
to put the earth. If the area between the tw'o ditches 
becomes too ele\ated or too much rounded, it is remedied 
by carrying the ditch farther out. thus making the 
rounded strip between the two ditches broader. The 
fence line can be placed on top of the roadlike bank, or, 
if there is no fence between the two fields, this can be 
used as a road over which to draw the loads of grain. 



DRAINAGE 183 

In case the two fields are planted with the same crop, 
it can be sown continuously through the ditches and 
over the flat embankment, or, if different crops are grown 
in adjacent fields, each crop may be planted to the cen- 
ter of the embankment. In many cases of level land, 
these side ditches may be made so broad that, even if 
more than a foot deep, since they are so flat, the plow and 
cultivating and harvesting implements may be operated 
across or through them. Care should always be taken, 
however, not to plow or cultivate in such a manner as to 
fill the ditches. On most nearly level farms these broad 
flat double ditches should follow the lowest places rather 
than as lines with which to divide the fields. Wire 
fences crossing them are easily removed, when it is de- 
sirable to use the reversible road machine to clean the 
accumulations of drifted soil out of the side ditches. 

Dead furrows. — To conduct the water from the fields 
into these broad partition ditches, each field is laid off in 
lands about lOO feet wide. Each year the back furrows 
are started in the same place or within one or two feet 
of the same line, thus bringing the dead furrows, year 
after 3^ear, at the same place. These dead furrows are 
thus made into broad flat ditches. Where slight depres- 
sions occur some rods across and a foot or less deep, the 
road machine may be used to deepen the dead furrows, 
and thus grade their bottoms so that the water in these 
low areas will all drain out into the broad ditches be- 
tween the fields. In some cases, it is necessary to make 
short broad ditches from low areas within the one-hun- 
dred-foot-wide lands into the dead furrows between. 
Care is necessary to keep the dead furrow clear of rub- 
l)ish, and in some cases to open it out and grade 
its bottom smoothly in the fall. ^^'here this open- 
ing of ditches has been neglected until spring, a 
man with a shovel connects the low places and 
shallow ditches with the dead furrows and cleans out 



1 84 FAK.M DF.VELOPMENT 

tlie dead furrows to connect them with the larger ditches. 
In some cases the reversible road machine, or the shish 
or wheel scraper, should be used in these broad dead fur- 
rows to lower them through slightly higher places, thus 
making a uniform grade, that the water may run out 
better. By thus making a system of flat o]:)en drains and 
keeping them in repair, the farmer in the level lands of 
the Valley of the Red River of the North is sometimes 
able to plant his crops a week or two earlier in the 
season. He thus insures a better crop and gets his grain 
jilanting out of the way so that he may have the oppor- 
tunity to plant his other crops in a seasonable time. 

Surveying the line of the ditch. — Mdst drainage oper- 
ations begin at the lower end of the ditch, the work pro- 
ceeding upward, first along the main drain, then from 
the chosen points in the main drain where the branches 
are to have their junctions to the upper end of the respec- 
ti\'e branches, ^^''ith the point and elevation of the out- 
let determined, a stake should be placed at points 50 or 
100 feet apart along the line of the proposed drain. 
These stakes should be placed a foot from one side of the 
proposed ditch, that they may not be disturbed in ex- 
cavating. A\'here the Avork must be very accurate, it 
is wise to use small stakes, 8 inches long and 2 inches 
square, for hubs. These are driven even with the sur- 
face of the land, beside the taller stakes which mark 
their position. See Figure 68. 

The leveling instrument is then to be used in finding 
the relative height of the successive points marked by 
the stakes and hubs along the line of the proposed drain. 
Some point should be chosen for a bench mark. An_\' 
natural object which is not likely to be n;oved, as a 
large bowlder, or a stone firmly buried beside a post in a 
fence, will serve as such. The instrument should now 
be set up where the leveling rod can easily'be seen when 
placccl on the point chosen for the bench mark, See 



DRAINAGE 



I«5 



Figure 58 and notes. For some purposes the long 
mason's level may be used, and levels may even be 
determined by setting stakes above the water level in a 
pond or lake. By having the tops of these stakes all 
extend the same distance above the water, a level line 
may be projected by sighting across their tops. 

Use of the datum plane. — In comparing the height of 
the dilferent points along the main drain and also along 



Station 
No. 


Back 

Sight 


Height 
Instr't 


Fore 
Sight 


Eleva- 
tion 
Ground 


Fall 

of 

Drain 


Eleva- 
tion 
Drain 


Depth 
Drain 


B. M. 


'5.32 10 5'. 3 2 




100.00 













9.43 


95.89 


Outlet 















S.82 


99.50 


Surface 


95.89 


3.01 


I 




1 




S.54 


99.78 


0.30 


96.19 


3.59 


^ 




. . . 




S.02 


100.30 




96.49 


3.81 


3 




. . . 


4,.60 


100.72 




96.79 


3.93 


4 




1 




S.07 


100.25 


" 


97.09 


3.16 


S 


\ 


'.41 1 lio'.fi 




3.10 


102.22 




97.39 


4.83 


6 








y.84 


102.79 


V.06 


98.39 


4.30 


7 








7.07 


103.60 




99.39 


4.21 


8 








6.43 


104.20 




100.39 


3.81 


9 








5.63 


105.00 




101.39 


3.61 


10 








S.23 


105.40 




102.39 


3.01 


11 








4.38 


106.25 


" 


103.39 


2.86 


12 








3.93 


106.70 


" 


103.79 


2.91 


13 


t 


5.06 113,3 


1 3.39 

J ; .... 


107.24 




104.19 


3.0s 


14' ' 








5.30 


108.66 


' .46 


104.59 


3.4i 


15 








5.00 


108.30 




104.99 


3.31 


16 






4.70 


108.60 




105.39 


3.21 


17 








4.0s 


109.25 




105.79 


3.46 


18 








3.90 


109.40 




106.19 


3.21 


19 








3. 57 


109.75 




106.59 


3.14 


20 








3.13 


110.17 




106.99 


3.18 



Fig. 81. Blank form xised in recording notes of levels taken while planning for 
a drain. 

its branches, some method is necessary by which 
the relative heights of all these points may be ascer- 
tained. There are several ways of doing this, 
but what is wanted is a simple plan of calculation 
which will be accurate and will clearly show the 
relative height of points with each other and es- 
I)ecially with the outlet. The following plan is in 
common use, and with practice can be employed 



1 86 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



to good adx-antage. After having carefully leveled 
up the telescope of the instrument, direct it to the meas- 
uring rod standing on the point chosen for a bench mark 
near the outlet of the proposed drain ; indicate to the 
rodman who is holding this rod, to move the disk up or 
down imtil its center is in line with the eye and the 
horizontal cross hair in the telescope. The rodman 
should then read on the measuring rod the exact dis- 
tance from the bench mark up to the center of the disk 
and record same in field notes, as in Figure 8i. This 
gives the height of the instrument above the bench 



B^PrJi4 



^*^ 




Figure 81a. Showing manner of using leveling instrument in planning a draiH. 



mark. It is a simple matter now to assume that the 
bench mark is loo feet above an imaginary level plane, 
which, for convenience, is termed " datum plane " or 
" datum." The height of the instrument above this 
imaginary plane is loo feet plus the distance above the 
bench mark to the disk on the measuring rod, which 
is level with the eye at the instrument. To make 
the illustration more complete, we will assume that the 
reading in a given case on the measuring rod was 5.32 
feet. Adding this figure to the height of the bench 
mark above datum, i. e., to 100 feet, we have the height 
of the instrument above datum — 105.32 feet. 



DRAINAGE I 8/ 

In some cases it is more convenient to find the height 
ni the instrument in its first position ahmc the point 
determined upon for tlie outlet of the proposed drain, 
and then assume the datum plane loo feet below the 
outlet. Then all figures showing ele\'ation of points on 
the surface or the bottom of drains may he compared 
with the outlet by merely subtracting the lOO, which can 
be done by inspection. sa\ing calculation with pencil. 

Now, turning the telescope toward the proposed point 
of outlet for the drain, where the rodman will place the 
measuring rod, the disk is again moved until it is in 
line with the eye and the cross hair in the leveling in- 
strument. ^^'e find that the reading on the rod now is 
9.43 feet. To find the height of this point of outlet 
above " datum," we have only to subtract this reading 
from the height of the eye at the instrument called 
" height of instrument '" above datum, thus 9.43 feet 
from 105.32 feet equals 95.89 feet ; that is, the outlet of 
the drain is to be 95.89 feet above the imaginary level 
plane. Next a measurement is taken on the surface of 
the ground immediately above the outlet, which may be 
called Station o, and this is found to be 5.82 below 
the instrument, or 99.50 above the datum plane. These 
measurements and the calculations from them are all 
placed in the note book ruled in the form for field notes, 
as in "Figure 81. This form makes it practicable to carry 
forward all the calculations and to make a permanent 
record as the taking of levels proceeds. 

Now, proceeding to the next stake, Station i. there 
being 100 feet between the stakes, the reading is taken 
in like manner, and it is found that from the instrument 
down to the hub at the surface of the soil is 5.54 
feet; subtracting this measurement from the height 
of the instrument, 105.32 feet, we find the height 
of the ground at Station i to be 99.78 feet above 
datum. The instrument is next tm-ned upon the third 



l88 FARM devi-:lopment 

stake, which is Station 2, and the reading shows 5.02 
and by subtracting we have 105.32 feet, minus 5.02 equals 
100.30 feet as tlie height of Station 2 above the 
imaginar}' plan called datum. Again, proceeding to 
Station 3. the rodman holding the measuring rod re- 
])orts that the disk has been stopped in line with the 
telescope at 4.60 feet. This measurement, subtracted 
from the height of the instrument, shows that Station 
3 is 100.72 feet above datum. Station 4 shows that 
the line is 5.07 feet below the instrument, or 100.25 ^^^^ 
above datum. Station 5 is found to he 3.10 feet below 
the instrument, or 102.22 feet above datum. 

Getting the new height of the instrument. — As a mat- 
ter of convenience or of necessity, to see the disk on the 
measuring rod at a long distance, the instrument is moved 
forward so as to be nearer the successive points along 
the line of the proposed drain, the heights of which are 
to be determined. The operator proceeds several stakes 
beyond the rodman, who remains at the last stake, the 
height of which was last measured. When the instru- 
ment is again set up, it is turned upon the measuring 
rod standing on the hub. the height of Avhich was last 
determined with the instrument in its previous position. 
The rodman moves the disk imtil in line with the in- 
strument in its new position. He then finds that the 
measurement is 8. 41 feet. The instrunient is now con- 
siderably higher than in its original position. Since the 
hub on which this measuring rod is standing is known 
to be 102.22 feet above the imaginary level datum plane, 
and the eye at the instrument is on a level 8.41 feet 
above the hub, the height of the instrument is 
now 102.22, plus 8.41, or 110.63 feet above datum. With 
this new height of instrument, it is now practicable to 
proceed to Station 6 and determine its height above 
datum. Here the rodman. after moving the disk until 
told that it is level with the instrument, reports that the 



DRAINACIC 189 

Stake is 7.84 feet below the point where the disk has 
been placed level with the instrument, which is 110.63 
feet above datum; Station 6 is then 110.63 feet, minus 
7.84 feet, or T02.79 feet above datum. In like manner, 
the height of Stations 7, 8, etc., are successively 
measured ; or when the earth at the stations is higher 
than the level of the instrument, the operator must again 
mo\'e the instrument, and, sighting back (getting the 
"back sight") to the point last measured, again find 
the new height of his instrument. In this manner we 
proceed to Station 20 ; that is, 2,000 feet from the 
outlet. 

That we may now illustrate the method of getting the 
new height of the instrument when going down grade, 
and, where necessary for great accuracy of checking up 
the work already done, we will begin at the upper end and 
check the levels at the successive stations back to the 
proposed outlet. Ry referring to Figure 81 it will be 
seen that the elevation of the surface at Station 20 is 
T 10.17 feet; and that the instrument standing in its 
last position is 3.13 feet above the hub at this point, or 
is 113.30 feet above datum. Now, turning again on 
Station 19, the rodman reads 3.57 feet, and subtracting 
this from the height of the instrument above datum, we 
have as the height of Station 19. too. 73 feet. Proceed- 
ing to Station 18, the rodman reads 3,90 feet; at 17. 
4.05 feet; at 16. 4.70 feet; at t,S, 5 feet; at 14, 5.30 feet, 
(^n account of the distance, it is now deemed advisable 
to get a new height of instrument, and the instrument 
is moved down to the neighborhood of Station 9. When 
the instrument is properly leveled up and turned on Sta- 
tion 14, the rodman finds his disk in line with the in- 
strument at 2.47 feet. Since the height of the surface 
at Station 14 is 108 feet and the instrument is found 
to be 2.40 feet higher than at this point, the new height 
of the instrument is calculated to be 110.40 feet. 



190 



FARM 1)I':vi:lop.ment 



^When directed to Station 13 tlic rddinaii reports the 
measurement from the instrument down to the liub as 
3.16 feet, making the ele\^ation of Station 13, 107 feet. 
So far the measurements have proven the original 
survey correct, since upon taking the measurements 
from the level of the instrument down to the several 
stakes, their respective heights above datum figure out 
the same as when measured up grade. By thus pro- 
ceeding downward to the outlet, changing the instrument 
once more, if there is but little Aariation found in any 
of the measurements the first survey is proven accurate, 
and when the heisfht of datum is measured, it is found to 



Station 


Back- 


Height 


Fore 


Elevation 


Fall of 


Depth 


No. 


sight 


Instr't 


Sight 


Ground 


Drain 


Drain 


B. M. 




1 13.30 












'26' 






3.13 


110.17 








19 






3.57 


109.73 








18 






3.90 










17 






4.05 










16 






4.70 










IS 






S.OO 










14 






5.30 


lo's'.oo 








13 


1 10.46 


2'. 4 7 


3.16 


107.24 








12 
















11 
















10 
















9 
















8 












• 




Fig 


S2. Same ; 


s I'-ig. SI. wi 


li measursnie 


Its (If levels t 


Tken do 


vn isr 


ifle. 



be 99.99 feet above datum plane or practically correct. 
See Figure S<2. By testing the adjustment of the in- 
strument before starting out and doing the work accu- 
rately, the experienced man can usually depend upon his 
levels. But if a great difference is found between the 
two surveys, the measurements should be again made 
with accuracy, and, if still an error appears, the instru 
ment should be tested and, if needing adjustment, a 
competent person should be employed to repair and 
adjust it. 



DRAINAGE I9I 

" Back sight " and " fore sight " or " plus sight " and 
"minus sight." — In the lalDulated statement, iMgures 8i 
and 82, the measurements from points of known heights 
up to the instrument are called back sights, or some- 
times plus sights ; that is, we add the height from the 
surface up to the line of sight through the instrument to 
the known distance above datum of the surface where 
the leveling rod stands in order to get the new height of 
the instrument. 

There is a column in the table headed fore sight, some- 
times :alled minus sight. In this column are placed 
the measurements from the height of the instrument 
down to given stations, the height of which it is desired 
to know. Since the instrument is always higher than 
the point we wish to measure, we always subtract the 
measurement from the height of the instrument down to 
the point in question so as to determine the height of that 
point above datum. These measurements, which are to 
find the height of the surface of the ground, are properly 
termed minus sights, to be subtracted from the height 
of the instrument, as distinguished from the plus sights, 
which are added to the known heights of given points, 
which are always used to find the height of the instru- 
ment. Back sights are often abbreviated B. S. and fore 
sights F. S., in the tabulated notes. 

How to use measurements of levels. — Now that the 
levels of the successive stations along the proposed line 
of the ditch have been determined, a method of using 
them is necessary. AVhere there is considerable fall, 
very little svirveying or calculation is needed since an 
experienced person can determine the depth the ditch 
should be at each station by merely inspecting the 
figures and the land. In cases, however, where the pro- 
posed drain is long, where the grade is slight, or where 
slight elevations requiring deep ditches necessitate con- 
siderable expense, or where the connection of lateral 



192 



FARM DliVliLOi'.MENT 



drains with a drainage system complicates the problem, 
it is sometimes wise to use profile paper in making what 
is termed a profile of each of the proposed ditches. 

The profile is a great help in devising the proper 
grades for long drains on A'ery flat areas so as to have 
them sufficiently deep in the lower places, not too deep 
where the digging would be considerable and yet have 
the most practical grades for efifectually carrying off the 
water at the least expense for construction. 

How to make a profile. — The figures representing the 
height of the successive stations above datum, as re- 
corded in Figure 8i, are used to show the surface of the 




Figure S3. Profile showing surface and the grade line of the ditch, thus glTlng the 
depMi of the ditch. 

land at each station. Figure 83 shows how the heights 
above datum are mapped into a profile to show the sur- 
face of the earth along the line of the ditch, from its out- 
let to its head. This line having been mapped in, an- 
other line beneath the surface can be drawn, showing 
the bottom of the ditch, whether tile drain or open ditch. 
By careful inspection and measurement, or by counting 
the lines, this line representing the grade of the ditch 
can be so placed that the ditch will not be made un- 
necessarily deep and expensive, nor yet too near the sur- 
face at any point. Tt will be observed that points have 
been chosen along the line of the ditch where the grade 
is slightly changed. Between these points straight lines 
are drawn, showung that the grade is to be uniform 
between the chosen points. By using a soft pencil, 
these points for changing the grade may be located and 
trial lines made, and, if not in the right place, they may 



DKAI XAIjI': hj3 

be erased and other trials made, until the depth of the 
proposed ditch at the various points is so arranged as 
to make an effective system of drains without unneces- 
sary expense. 

In case of branch drains, it is sometimes necessary to 
make profile? of the several branches before finally 
deciding upon the grade and depth of the main drain, 
showing their relations to the main drain, in order that 
the entire plan of the drainage system may be so mapped 
out as to make all parts fit together in a manner that 
Avill insure practical slants, or grades, for carrying the 
water from all portions of the land, and yet will not 
necessitate deeper and more expensive drains than 
necessary. 

The profile in Figure 83 shows the surface line of the 
ground at each station on the line of a proposed ditch, as 
determined by the use of the level, the leveling rod 
and the calculations. Figure 81. This profile is 
so made that the vertical lines represent the stations 
100 feet apart, O representing the outlet. Each 
horizontal line represents a foot in height. The hori- 
zontal line A-B represents a line 100 feet above datum. 
It may be seen from this profile that between Stations 
O-5, 5-1 1 and 11-20 the profile of the ground 
surface presents three different grades. AVhile it 
would be possible to give the ditch a uniform 
grade between Stations O and 20, as indicated by the 
dotted line, it would be impracticable, as it would bring 
the ditch too near the surface l^etween Stations 1-6 and 
too deep between Stations TO-16. To avoid this the 
ditch is run on three se|)arate grades, which give it a 
nearly uniform depth and still allow sufficient slope to 
carry off the water. 

By deciding upon the depth of the drain at each point 
chosen for a change of grade, the amount of fall per 100 
feet can be determined between each of two points of 



1 94 FARM DKVELOPMENT 

cliang-e. Then, by subtracting the depth of the ditch at 
each point of change of grade from the elevation of the 
surface of the ground abo^•e datum, the elevation, above 
datum, of the bottom for the ditch at these points can be 
placed in the column for Elevation of Drain. The dif- 
ference in the elevation of the drain above datum be- 
tween two points divided by the number of stations lOO 
feet apart gives the grade per too feet. By beginning 
at the lower point and adding this amount to the height 
of each station, the height of the next station is deter- 
mined. The depth of drain at each station is then 
determined by subtracting the height of the drain above 
datum from the height of the surface of the ground 
above datum at that station. These records can be copied 
from the notebook upon stakes and thus show the depth 
to dig the ditcli at the respective stations. 

Deciding upon amount of slope or grade. — In deciding 
tlie most jiractical grade, or slant, of the line of the drain, 
and the size of the ditch or the diameter of the drain tile, 
rules are of some use. but very often these matters can 
best be determined by one who has had practical ex- 
perience under similar conditions. In rare cases, a steep 
grade causes an open ditch to be gullied out by the 
swift running water, and a more level grade with 
an occasional waterfall buttressed with stones would 
be better, but generally on flat lands the efifort 
should be to secure a rapid fall in the grade. In 
some cases, for example, in the Valley of the Red 
River of the North, in Holland, and in other very flat 
countries, large open drains must, of necessity, be made 
nearly level. It is astonishing how much water will be 
removed by an open drain that has only a few feet of 
fall per mile, or a tile drain that has only 2 to 4 inches fall 
per 100 feet. Width of the ditch, or diameter of drain 
tile must largely make up for lack of fall, since water 
that has so little speed must be carried in a larger drain 




— /60/?005 — 

L'ifc'ure 81. Showing system of mapping iliains and sizes of tiles in low placjcs un a 
•J40-acre farm. The double curved line south of the highway is a creek; the double 
line on the north of the highway is an open ditch. The tile drains open into 
the creek and open ditches. Tlie rainfall is about 3i) inches, and except in Inie of the 
open ditch no large amount of flood water need be provided for. (See notes at bottonx 
of page 196.) 



195 



IfjG FARM DEVELOPMENT 

in order to remove the volume of Hood water or rainfall. 
The minimum grade for tile drains is usually considered 
as about 2 inches to the 100 feet. Generally, tiles need 
not be laid at a less grade than 4 to 6 inches fall to the 
100 feet. 

The size of tiles to be used is important, because drains 
which are too small to carry a given amount of water 
at a given grade will not drain off the water rapidly 
enough to avoid injuring the crops, and the use of tiles 
larger than necessary is a waste of money. The amount 
of rain which annually falls in a locality, the flood water 
received by the wet area from surrounding lands, the 
distance apart of the drains, the presence or absence of 
seepage or spring water in the subsoil, the character of 
the subsoil, the amount of fall, or grade, given the drain, 
and sometimes other considerations, make the problem 
a complicated one. In the notes under Figure 84, the 
sizes of tiles to be used in the various main and branch 
drains there mapped are specified, together with the 

Main I. from 1 to 12. has a graile of 4 inches per lOU feet: and 4-hich tiles are used 
fnni 1 te 11. aiul from 10 to 12. also from 12 to l:i. Brandies 11, 12 and l;! have 
tirades of 4 inches per IIKI feet, iind :!-ineli tiles are used. 

Main 2 and its branches are all laid at a gnide of 8 inclies per 100 feet. A O-inch 
tile is nsed from 2 to 21. 3-ineli from 21 to 211. 4-inch tiles from 21 to K, and 211 
to M. .and 3-inch tiles tlience to the upper ends of the two branch drains. 

Main 3 has a (i-inch grade to K. thence lo inolies. Sizes tiles used: G-inch. 3 to 
o2. and 3-inch beyond K. Branch 32 anil suh-liranch 321 have a grade of S inches 
and 322 a grade of 8 inches to K. and 12 inches from F to the upper end. Sizes used: 
5-lnch on 32 to 321, 4-inch on 321 to S and 322 to F; 3-lnch above F and S. Brancli 
31 and sub-branch 311 have a grade of (i-inch to P and K and beyond 10 inches or 
more. Sizes used: 4-inch, 31 to 311; beyond. 3-inch. 

Main 4 and its branches, S-inch grade: 4-iuch tile 4 to 41, and beyond 3-inch tiles. 

Main 5: Grade 5 to X, 3 inches, 5-inch tile: Kr.ide X to upper end (springy hill- 
.si(le). 10 inches, 4-inch tile. 

Main 6: Grade (J to 62. 10 inches, tiles 4-hich: giade branches fil and fi2. S inches, 
tiles o-inch. 

Main 7: (Jraile lo niches, tile ."i-inch: hranch 71. ^rade to 1., C inches, and beyond 
12 inclies or more: tiles 4-inch from 71 to I., aiid hcyond 1. :;-iiicli; branch 72. grade lo 
M. S inches, and beyond 10: tiles 1-incli from 7- to .\I. and 3-inch beyond. 

Main 8: Grade. It! inches; size. 3-inch. 

Main 9:. Grade to R. 10 inches: tile, o- mjcIi : ;;iii(lc U to S. G inches, tile. 4-inch: 
grade tieyond S, 12 inches; tile. :;-incli : hrinich HI. grade. S inclies; tile, 91 to C, 4- 
inch ; C to upper end. 3-inch. 

Main 10: Grade 10 to 101, 10 inches; beyond. 14 inches: branch 101, grade, 3fi 
inches or more (the upper end tapping a spring with considerable water) ; tiles, 10 to 
101, 8-iiich. beyond 3-inch: tiles, 101 to F, G-inch. lieyond 4-inch. 

Main II; Grade to r., IS inches, bevond V. 20 inches: tiles, 11 to B. 4-inch, beyond 
B 3-inch. 

Main 12: (irade 12 to 121. 20 inches, hc.vond 121. 24 inches; tiles i2 to 121, 4-incli; 
beyond 122. :;-inch: hranch 121. grade M iiiciics; tile. 3-iiicli. 



DRAINAGE 



197 



length and grade, showing how maps and specifications 
can l)c made. 

Depth to make drains. — The roots of nearly all cul- 
tivated plants grow best where the surface of the ground 



,.id.rt..,i:r.-!:-'r'-'-'-""- 



Figure 85. Showing elevation of the soil above datum, also elevation of drain at 
stations 50 feet apart, as en(ere<l from surveyor's MaiiU. 

water is at the depth of 3 to feet or more, so that they 
can spread in soil containing only capillary water with 
the interspaces filled with air down to at least some feet. 
Tile drains may be laid 3 or 4 feet deep rather cheaply, 
but deeper thkn this the expense increases rapidly. 
Extensive experience has led farmers to lay tile drains 
at the depth of 3 or 4 feet where there are wo special 
reasons for laying shallower or deeper. In some cases 
where the water percolates through soils very slowly, it 
is best to lay the tiles not deeper than an a\'erage of 
2 feet. Since the drain must have a iiearlv uniform fall 




Figure S(j. Deptli of ditch at each slathin, secured liy suhtracthig lieight of ililch 
from lieiglit of surface (Jii surveyor's blank. 

regardless of the contour of the surface of the ground, 
and at all points must slope toward the outlet, the drain 
is necessarily deeper at some points than at others. 
In low places, it is sometimes necessary to bring" the tiles 
nearer the surface; always, however, keeping them 
sufficientl}' deep that they will not be disturbed by 
the plow. 



198 



FARM UKVIXOP.MliNT 



Where deep sul)Stiiliii,L;" is pracliccd the top of tlie tiles 
should be at least 15 inches dee]), ami, in no case, even 
in rather o])en soil, which will not need subsoiling", 
should the tiles he laid nearer tlie surface than to to 12 
inches. In case of \ery dense subsoils, where fine, dense 
clav is thrown l)ack into the ditch o\er the dee])ly laid 
tiles, the surface water ma}' l)e ])rc'\cnted from reaching' 
the drain quickly, especially if it he laid too deeply, and 
the drain he, therefore, of little ser\ice. \\ the ditch be 
filled with L;ra\e! or other porous material, the water 




Figuif ST. Cu.s., 
Imvs in itM.-liitiu ili 
KioiMiil water rises 
of the tiles liie slut 



liriii tliiipiit:h tuci tile drains slinuiiit; liiieitinn the uater fnl- 
eiiiiin,, in tlie tiles. After a Ijeavv rainfall llie siiifaee nf the 

he line \V As this Kradnally seeps si. leu i^' i ilie linttnnis 

nf ilie ualei sinks, as to the line T. 



can s^et into the deep drain cpiite as readily as if it were 
nearer the surface, ddds ]>recauti<->n is necessary only 
in rare cases. 

Special survey notes. — In sur\'eyin.i;" out the line of tlie 
ditch, special notes should be made of all unusual fea- 
tures, and of tlu' exact points at which laterals branch 
off, and. where practicable, the h^ation of the drain at 
different point.'^. as where crossing' a line of land survey, 
or near a monument w hich has been recorded in i)revious 
land survevs ; these should be carefully noted showing" 
the exact distances and directi<ms to gix-en points, so 



DRAIXAGE 



199 



that the under drain may be easily located at any time. 
Notes on grade stakes. — In making careful surveys 
with grade stakes every 50 or 100 feet, the depth to 
which the ditch is to be dug at these points should be 
marked on the stakes. Thus, in Figure 86 are shown 
stakes; at the first stake the mt is to be 4 feet; at the 
next stake it is to be 4.35 feet, etc. 

Surveyor's notes should be preserved. — Where the 
drainage problem is sufficiently complicated and dif- 

^ ficult to require a careful 

survey, the notes should 
be systematically re- 
corded and drawings and 
profiles should be so 
made as to make a per- 
manent record of the 
survey and of the fin- 
ished drain. 

The plat of the land 
should show the general 
land survey. — In cases 

Figure 88. Earth removed from A X to B with r 1„^„.^ rlr^imo-p f^nfpr 
reversible road machine; from X to Y witli spade. OI IdlgC (_iraniclgf CIlLei 

prises, a copy of the 
government land sur^•ey may be made, and to this 
the surveyor's notes added, making such contour maps 
as are necessary, and locating" the lines of the main and 
lateral open and tile drains. A system of naming or 
numbering the main and laterals, such, for example, as 
is carried out in Figure 84, should be adopted. The 
daily notes in platting and le^■eling can be taken in a 
notebook and should be at once transcribed upon the 
map upon which the drain is to be platted. Simple 
drawings made on pages of the notebook will aid in keep- 
ing a record of the linear measurements and angles while 
making the general land survey and the leveling meas- 
urements, also in making the profile. The profiles n\ the 




200 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



niciin and of each lateral drain should show all eleva- 
tions, grade lines and bridges; and, in case of tile drains, 
any special features, as silt wells, etc., should be given. 

THE CONSTRUCTION OF TILE DRAINS 



Aluch effort has l)een exi)ende(l in the construction of 
machines for making tmderground drains which ojjen 
i>iit the ditches and. at the same operation, lay the tiles 
and return the earth into the ditch. While some sub- 
stantial progress has been made with this class of ma- 
chinery, it is at best adapted only to 
long lines of ditch to be made in land 
free from stones. The man with the 
spade must continue to make the tile 
drains in all difficult places and in cases 
where the line of the drain is n(^t suf- 
ficiently long to warrant the use of 
machinery. 

Opening with spade. — Like the sur- 
\-ey. as a rule, the work should begin at 
the lower end or outlet of the drain. 
In some cases, the up])er 8 to 12 inches 
of earth may be easily thrown out by 
means of a common plow or the rever- 
sible road machine. To make the line 
of the ditch straight, a cord ma\' l)e 
used to mark one side of the ditch. 




Fit'ine 89 represents a 
clilrli opened up 12 indies 
wide at llie top. C iiiclie-. 
wide at. tlie bottom. 4 feii 
deep, and adapted to 4- 
ini'li tile.s. JIaluna it 1,^ 
.-p,, , , .11 • iiirlies wide at the lop. 

1 hose who ha\e not had exi^erience adds one-tinrd to ii,e 

. ,. , , , , amount of earth liaii- 

will be suri:)nsed tliat the ditch slioukl died: nnd raauing ii :; feet 

' \iide at the top adds Iwo- 

not be more than lo to 12 inches wide !'"'\'f , *" "'^ ''■""' 

lianclled. 

at the top for a ditch 3 or 4 feet deep. 
Figure 89, with notes, illustrates the fact that much less 
earth is handled in the narrow ditch. Experience will 
con\in.ce an\-one that there is no serious incon\cnicnce 
in workim>' in a narrow ditch. In fact, the sides l)eing 



DRAIXAGR 201 

perpendicular and near together, is an advantage in 
enabling the spademan to work loose his spadefuls of 
earth. 

Figure 87 shows the movements of rainwater in its 
course into the tile drain. The curved line, T-T, repre- 
sents the surface of the zone of ground water. Above 
this, tlie rainwater is represented by the dotted lines as 

percolating directly downward. 

AA'hen it reaches the surface 
mS'ma^eis™^ ^a'^^^LX^ of the Standing water and adds 

(i t(i 7 inches wide, ami much curved. . •. i • i , ,i j . 

.•;s s'.iown ill cross section at .V. This tO itS height, thC grOUUd Watcr 

is a surprisingly useful tool in open- ^ . . , . , 

hig tile 01 open drains in many easily MoWS fastcr SlCleWlSe tOWarCl 
worked soils. I'y turning it at an i • i i • i 

angle as shown in Figure n.i the hot- fhc tllcS, wllicll arC SO laid aS 
toni of the (h(ch may he made as 

iiarrow as dcsucl f: r a :! or 4-incl, ^q alloW it tO floW betWCCn 

their ends and flow away 
through the tiles, and thus prevent the ground water 
rising higher and smothering the roots of the plants. 
In case of* a very heavy fall of rain, the ground water 
accumulates more rapidly than it can seep sidewise to 
the tiles, or possibly is in such quantity that the tile can- 
not carry it all off, even though running full. The line X 
shows how the water rises be- 
tween tiles laid at intervals of 
several rods apart. The posi- Figme 01. smaii tiie spade. M-.ie 

' ' 17 inches long. 4% inches wide at top, 

tion of the lower curved line If'''' .i". ifttom of nanow d'tci, for 

2 or .l-nicli tiles. >ot muc'i used, as 

and the water within the tiles [j;^ ea',.'th"brtter."''' '"""™ ^'^' '""'"'' 
illustrates the fact that the 

water passes into the lower half of the tile and that it 
can seep in through the openings between the ends of 
the tiles, not needing to pass through the walls. 

In Figure 93, A shows the manner of sinking the spade 
in taking out the successive courses in opening a tile drain 
by hand in a free soil. ?>, C. D. E and F represent suc- 
ceeding courses. By thus "racking" the spade, each block 
of earth is broken loose from the side, leaving a square, 
even bank. Since only one side is broken loose and that 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




with a revolving motion, it is removed with a small 
expenditure of force. Being broken loose so easily, 
it is not so much crumbled up and the spademan gets out 
nearly all he has broken loose. The succeeding courses are 
removed in a similar manner. In case of lower courses, 
D and E, Figure 94, if the ditch is narrow, there is 

economy of labor in 
using a spade with a 
long, narrow blade, tak- 
ing a deep thin slice or 
block from the edge of 

Figure i»2. Tile lioe f(^racling bottom of tile the COUrSCCUt diagonally 

by each previous use 01 
the spade. While apparently a small matter, a trial of this 
idea will illustrate the wisdom of constantly exercising 
intelligence in finding easy ways of doing the plain, hard 
work of the farm. 

In Figure 94, the man A is cutting the sod at either 
side line of the ditch. B, C, D and E are spading out 
successive courses of earth, F is grad- 
ing the bottom of the ditch to a true 
uniform slant, using the grading stafif, 
H, to keep the bottom of the ditch par- 
allel with the steel wire stretched at the 
desired slant at a given distance above 
the grade. The arm on the grading 
stafif is adjustable to whatever distance 
the steel wire is placed above the bot- 
tom desired for the ditch. I is laying 
tiles by hand in the bottom of the ditch. 
At J a branch drain enters the main 
drain. K is laying tiles with a tile hook, as on a bottom 
too soft to bear a man's weight. L is filling in several 
inches of earth over the tiles, tramping it compactly over 
them. M is filling in the bulk of the earth with a shovel. 

Grading the bottom of the ditch. — Making the bottom 




Figure il2a. Tile hoe. 
:uljust^il)le to pusli or 
pull. 



DRAINAC.K 



203 



of the ditch uniform in grade, or fall, toward the outlet is 
the only difficult part of constructing a tile drain. Where 
water gently oozes out into the ditch from the surround- 
ing soil and runs toward the outlet, it can be used by 
the experienced man as a guide in grading the bottom of 
the ditch. The eye soon learns to judge by the rippling 
of the water in the bottom of the ditch whether or not 
the grade is uniform. If the stream lies smooth and 
sluggish in one place 
and flows rapidly in 
another, the tile hoe 
is used to make the 
ditch deeper at the 
upper portions of the 
rapids, and thus the 
grade is made so even 
that the water runs 
with a uniform speed 
throughout the entire 
length of that part of 
the drain which is 
being constructed on 
a given grade. Where 
the grade changes, as 
in changing the grade 
below a given station 
to another grade 
above, the eye must 
be trained to adjust 
the new grade to the 
flow of water. If the 
depth of the ditch at 
the separate stations 
has been placed on stakes, by measuring down when the 
new station is reached the grade can be corrected, as 
each stake is approached, so as to keep it at that depth 




Fig. 03. Method of spading out successive courses in 
jpening a ditch for tiles. 



204 



FARM DliVELOi'MENT 



decided upon in working" out the survey notes. In grad- 
ing with water, the safest way is to go too shallow rather 
than too deep, as it is not always practicable to fill in 
with loose materials under the tiles in running water. 
This can, of course, 1)e done 1)}' using" gravel or coarse 
stones \\hicli will not ])e displaced by running water. 
Many practical ditchers require no survey whatever if 
there is water in the ditch, and ample fall, since they 




Figure 94. Ten men perfnrmiiis successiTp niieratiniis in opening the ditcli. grading tlie 
bottom and filling tlie ditoli. 

can lay out the general plan of a drain with the eye, and 
by carefully using the water as an indicator can make a 
thoroughly practical drain. 

The triangular tile drain grader, shown in Figure 95, 
may be made any suitable length, as 10, 12 or 16^ 
feet. When the lower board is ]e\'el. a large nail is driven 
in its upper edge immediately under the point of the 
plumb bob. If it is a rod long, it may be adjusted to 
grading 2. 4. 6, 8. 10, 12. etc., inches per 100 feet by 
using blocks one-third of an inch thick under one end. 
driving a nail under the point of the plumb bob each 
time the upper end is raised by the addition of one of 



DKAIXAGIi 



205 



these Mucks, just as the device shown in Figure 96 is 
adjusted to ^milar changes in grade by moving the iDolt 
supporting the upper board into holes one-third of an 
inch lower. If the device is shorter than 16^ feet, the 
size of the blocks used in placing the nails should be 
proportionately thinner. Thus, if 10 feet long, the 
blocks should be one-fifth of an inch thick, h'igure 96 
illustrates a grading frame used in leveling ditches. 
A, spirit level ; B. hinged end of board at back or lower 
end of frame ; C, loose end of board at front of frame, 
which can be lowered or raised, so that, when the spirit 
level stands level, the bottom board. D to E, will have the 
desired slant to give the 
I)ottom of the ditch the 
|)roper grade. The frame 
is pulled forward as fast 
as the ditch is lowered 
sufficiently to allow of 
its being moved without ^/^ 
throwing the spirit bulb 
out of level. A change 
for a steeper grade is made by putting the pin at C 
in a lower hole, and to a slighter grade by putting 
the pin in a higher hole. 

Grading devices. — In Figures 95. 96, '97 and 98 are 
shown dififerent forms of leveling devices found useful 
in making the bottom of the tile drain at a uniform 
grade. Proceeding from one station to another, the 
accuracy of the grading frame is tested by measuring 
down from the stake at the new- station. If the grade 
has been too great, and the ditch is not sufficiently deep, 
the grading frame should be readjusted to a slightly less 
grade, and if the ditch is too deep when the forward 
station is reached, the frame should be readjusted to 
a greater slant. 

A small steel wire, such as is used in wrapping brooms, 




Figure 03. Triangvilar tile drain giader. 



206 



FARM DliVELOi'MENT 



.stretched from station to station, 50, or even 100, or more, 
feet apart, and placed at a given distance above the 
desired grade, serves as a line from which to measure 
down to the bottom of the ditch. The ends of the wire 
can be placed at the same distance above the desired 
grade and parallel to it. The depth for the ditch at each 
point being known, the wire can be attached to each 
stake high enough to make the wire a given distance 
above the desired bottom of the ditch, say 7 feet. It 
will be con^•enient to have it high enough to be out of 
the way of throwing out the spadeful of earth. To find 
the proper depth to make the ditch, an L-shaped meas- 




Flgure 06. Grading frame used in leveling the bottom of tile ilitclies. 



uring rod may be used to measure down from the wire, 
which may be placed at one side. By using stakes, as in 
Figure loi, the wire can be stretched so tightly that 
it will not sag. 

Laying tiles in the ditch. — Where the material in the 
bottom of the ditch is not too soft, laying by hand, as 
shown at I, Figure 94, is the better way of placing the 
tiles in position. When placed by hand the tiles can be 
so turned and adjusted that the ends will be sufficiently 
close together to prevent earth falling in between. Where 
material under the bottom of the ditch is so soft that 
treading on the tiles displaces them, it is necessary to 



DKAINAC;!': 



207 




FiSiii-e 117. Mason's level. 



lay the tiles with the tile hook, as shown at K, Figure 94. 

By exercising a little dexterity, the tiles can be placed. 

and even revolved on 

the hook, so as to make 

the unions fairly tight. 

There is rarely danger 

of having the ends too 

close together, as a 

very narrow opening will allow the water to enter. As 

soon as the tiles are laid, they should be covered with a 

few inches of earth and tramped so that they will not 

be displaced. If the earth 
forming the side of the 
ditch is not fine sand, or 
if it has sufficient clay in 
it to bind well, sufficient 
to pack about the tiles 
can be cut loose with the 
spade by the workman 
standing in the ditch and 
tramped firmly about the 
tiles. 

Where the branches 
lead of¥ from the line of 
the ditch, the unions 
should be carefully made. 
Union tiles, as shown in 

Figure 98. Shows tlic manner of marking the T^icriirpc; TC anrl '7*7 

upright of Figure 9G sn that the holes may hf i g u i <.- C3 / ^ a. ii \j. / /, 

bored at the desired distance apart. A horizon- q ,-p. nci^rl frM- flnic -niii- 

lal line is drawn thronyli the center of the hole "-^^ LISCU lUl LIUS pui - 

which supports the top board wlien it is par- „„,„ \\T\ i.1 

allel to the bottom board, and another at each pOSC. W here theSC are 

inch further down for several Inches. Then each , -i -li 

inch is divided into three equal parts by lines UOt available, aS Ul CaSC 

and three vertical lines are drawn an inch or . , , 

more apart. By boring a hole at each Inter- of brcakaS'e Or lonS!" dis- 
section, the holes are made at intervals of one- ° ° 

'^\ntS.'^^lirjt\'TS^'^!r%f.:^^^, tance from factory, unions 

bottom board being 16% feet long. ^^^ be made by CUttiug 

a hole with a cold chisel in a tile on the main line and 
fitting to this hole the end of a tile on the branch line. 





208 




20D 



2IO 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




This is rather expensive, as the labor is considerable, 
and several tiles may be broken in the attempt to make 
the desired fitting. To insure a close joint, broken 
pieces of tile or stones may be laid or fitted about the 
rather crude opening. 

Protecting the tiles from the roots of trees. — Where 
the line of drain tile passes under a willow hedge or near 
other trees the roots of which grow readily in wet 
ground, there is danger that the roots may enter between 

the ends of the 
tiles and by 
branching within 
the drain close 
it up so as to 
stop the flow of 
water. Bunches 
of roots thus 
formed within a 
tile drain are 
shown in Figure 
105. By using 
sewer tiles with shoulders, and closing the ends with 
cement, these roots may be kept out. This, of course, 
is not desired in land needing drainage, since the water 
could not penetrate into the tiles, and is only necessary 
to thus protect a length of several rods where a tile drain 
must carrv its 



water past trees. 
Filling the 
ditch. — In some 
instances. t h e 
hand shovel is 
the most practical 

tool to use in filling the tile ditch. The slush scraper, 
as shown in Figure 106, may be used to advantage. A 
chain, to or more feet long, is necessarv tliat the team 



Figure 101. The depth of the ditch having been recorded on 
the stake at each station, or only in tlie notes, measurement can 
be made from the station to a given point above the proposed 
bottom for the drain, say 7 feet, and a small steel wire, "broom 
wire," can be stretched between the two stations parallel to the 
bottom of the ditch. It is then a simple matter to measure down 
with an L-shaped measure set to determine the proper depth to 
grade tlie bottom of the ditch with a tile hoe. 




Figure 102. Quiet water in a sag in a drain tile allows sedi- 
mc-ni, to settle there and clog the drain. 



DRAINAGE 



211 



may be backed up near to the ditch. Where the 
ground is solid, the eveners may be carried on the front 
wheels of a wagon, or better still, by means of the hind 
wheels of the wagon, supplied with a tongue. The hind 
wheels being larger can be backed up more easily. One 
man can some- 
times do this 
work, but a 
second man is 
usually neces- 
sary to drive the 
team, at least 
until it is taught 
to turn and back 
at command. A 
specially con- 
structed scraper, 
as shown i n 
Figure 107. with 
a long" tongue, 
can also 1)e used 
in filling a ditch 
1)}' having" the 
loam on the op- 
posite s i d e oi 
the ditch from 
the ridge of ex- 
cavated earth. 
Some reversible 
road machines 
are so built that 
they can be used 

to fill the ditch very cheaply, as shown in Figure 108. 
Before filling with team power, the tiles should be 
covered by a workman who fills in several inches of 
earth and treads it firntly about the tiles. 




I'igure lUo 
tlrains. sliciwi 



Agricultural high school students laying tile 
how n man can get down into a narrow ditch. 



212 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



Opening the ditches with machinery. — In a previous 
paragraph, plowing" out furrows witli the common plow 
was advised ; in some cases the capstan ditching plow 
can be used for throwing out the first i8 to 24 inches of 
earth, thus greath^ lessening the amount of hand digging 
for tile drains. 

Tile-ditching machines which throw the dirt to one 
side of the ditch have been invented, and some of them 
ha^'c been used with more or less success. 
( Others have been devised to carry the dirt 
backward and throw it again in the ditch 
behind a man who lays the tiles: and still 
others which automatical]}' lay the tiles 
ha\e also been projected and made almost 
successful in soils which arc free from 
stones and on which the machine can be 
run without sinking too deeph' into soft 
earth. 

The grade of the bottom of the tile is 
riguie 104. Tile controlled, in case of machines for open- 

I 'ok, handle 7 feet ' 

iMis, hook 10 inches i,-,g ^hc drain, by means of levels marked 
on stakes, above the line of the ditch, 
with cross bars at a given distance above the desired 
grade of the l)ottom of the drain, the operator on the 
machine keeping the depth of the ditching de^•ice under 
control by sighting from a point on the machine to 
these cross bars of the successive stakes. Figure no 
shows a mole tile-ditching machine with attachment. 
A, capstan; B. mole ditching machine; X, man control- 
ling grade of the drain with a wheel and keeping the 
marker, mounted on the mole coulter in line with 
markers, O-P, on two stakes so placed as to be parallel 
with the line of the desired grade. A man sitting in a 
pit lays tiles on the steel ribbon, F, which is attached to 
the large steel mole, M, and they are drawn into place. 
These pits are placed every 50 or 100 feet. These 



DRAINAGE 



213 



machines have not had extensive use. Capstan mole 
ditching machines without tiles are also sometimes used 
in tough clay subsoils, in which the drain may remain 
open for some time. 

Outlets and silt wells. — Outlets need to be carefully 
arranged, so that stock coming to the mouth of the drain 




Figure 105. Masses of maple roots taken fiiim o-iucli drain tiles 



to drink cannot disturb the ends of the tiles by 
tramping, and it is wise to place a wire screen over the 
opening, that rabbits and other small animals may be 
kept out of the drains. Stones laid at the outlet, or 
masonry liuilt at this point, are sometimes necessary. 



214 



FARM np.VELOPMRNT 




Figure lOG. Filling tile diteh with ili:ig or slusli scraper. 

Ill otlicr places, instead of the tiles coming entirely to 
the end of the drain, the last lo feet may be a 
board l)ox which cannot easily be displaced by animals 
tramping upon it. In cases where the outlet of the tile 
drain must be A-er\- \o\x and there is very q'reat need of 




Figure 1(17. Filling tile clitcli witli iin esijecinlly constructed scraper. 



DRAINAGE 



215 



keeping" the ditch below it clear, it is necessary to build 
a fence to keep hogs and other animals from inter- 
fering. 

Cost of laying tile drains. — Where labor costs $1.25 to 
$1.50 per day, the cost, though varying greatly in dif- 
ferent soils, is approximately 10 cents per rod for each 
foot of depth for tiles laid 2 to 5 feet deep, where the 
work is all clone l)y hand. Experienced ditchers can 
make good wages at this price, while inexperienced 
men will find it very hard to make moderate wages. 
Where machinery can be used for part of the work, 
the cost can be materially reduced. In laying 3 and 4- 
inch tiles that cost an average of $10 per thousand, or 
one cent per foot, the cost of the tile per rod of 
ditch is 16J-2 cents. The cost of digging an axerage 
ditch ;^y2 feet deep is 
35 cents, making a total 
of 51^ cents per rod 
for the completed ditch. 
^^'here the tiles must 
])G shipped on railways 
the cost \\\\\ be con- 
siderably higher, and 
for larger sizes of tile 
the cost is greater. 
( See Cost of Drain 
Tiles, page 169. ) 

The cost per acre. — 
Tlie cost ]:)er acre 
where tiles are laid at regular intervals apart can be 
close]}' estimated by using the ])rices per thousand for 
drain tiles and adding to this the above estimates for 
the cost of labor. There are many cases where tile 
drains are economical where it is difficult to figure the 
cost per acre, since instead of systematically covering 
flat areas, the drain follows some low slough or carries 




Figure 108. Filling tlie tile tlitcli uilU the tv- 
veialble road machine. 



2l6 



FAK.M DEVELOPMENT 



the water from some low or otherwise bothersome spot 
in the field. Here the cost and probable benefit must be 
compared in some general way, rather than by using 
the acre as the unit. 



MAKING OPEN DRAINS 



Capstan plow ditchers. — Very large ditching plows are 
used for making open ditches in sloughs and in level 
lands where there are long stretches of alluvial till or 




Figure 10!l. Tile-ditchins macliiiie opening' a 4-fiMit ditch. 

clay sufficiently free from stones to cause no serious 
interference to the coulters or lay of the capstan plow 
ditcher. Generally, the power can be applied in a direct 
line from the capstan to the machine. In some cases, how- 
ever, the capstan set in a direct line with the line of the 
ditch and directly in front of the machine will not give 
good footing to the horses or oxen on the capstan sweep, 
and it is neccssarA', bv means of heavv stakes set in the 



DRAINAGE 



217 



ground, to locale a puiley finnh- in the line of the ditch 
around which the cable can pass to drier land where 
the horses or oxen can operate the capstan. These 
same ditching plows are sometimes drawn by twenty 
to thirt}" oxen working" in pairs or four-ox teams, the 
teams arranged tandem on the cable. The oxen can 
pull through rather soft land ; 3'et where the mud is too 
deep, a long cable must be used and by passing it 
around a pulley, as before mentioned, the cattle mav 




.Mnle (litclier. 



do their pulling on solid ground on one side of the 
line of ditch. 

In tough soils the ditches will remain effective for 
several years, but finally fill up and become of little 
service. Such surface drains should be placed at one 
side rather than on the center of the line, where a per- 
manent drain should some time be placed. A ragged 
open drain is much in the way in making a permanent 
tile drain. It is often much easier to construct the 
permanent drain on a new line where the soil and sur- 
face are uniform. 

Ditches may be made with these implements at a 
very low cost, often at 10 cents per rod. or even less. 
These ditches will sometimes last for a dozen vears, or 



2l8 



FARM DEVELOP M KK T 



^ 


^ -^-^'' ^^ — 


s- 


''l^~-~~r~~..^^r--'^^^ 


1. 


"^^O-- 




~^C^~^^- ^ 


'*^ 


^ 



FiKilio III- 
pipr culvcit. 



Onllel to till' 



until ilic faniici- can al'lurd a limaiKr npoi (jitch : or 

still l)ettcT. a tile drain. In inakin£( ditches with the 

capstan rh'tching' plow, 
(•ai"r slmnlrl he nsed to 
lia \ e the i^rade nnifrirni 
^< > that the watei" will 
inn with eijual rapiditv 
tln-on,c^'hout the \arions 
]iarts of the drain, as 
this insnres"more rapid 
reiuMwil 111 the water 
and il als( i i)re\"ents the 
e,\eessi\-e w" a s h i n J4' 
which is apt to occnr 
at ])oinis of the steepest 

q^rades. W'herexer washing occurs, there is a certain 

amount of del)ris cut loose from the bank, and this debris 

a n d o t li e r d e 1) r i s 

washed in from sur- 
rounding;' land is car- 

rie(l for w a r d a u d 

deposited in the l)ottom 

of the ditch further on 

and eventually fills it. 
The slush scraper is 

also useful in openin,^' 

out laro'e drains and in 

hllini^ tile drains. 

The Fresno scraper 

is a mcidified form of 

the draiL,^ scraper much 

used \\\ tlie WeSteiU i.i;;iirf 112. OuUet m aiain proterteil Viy masonry. 

states. It can be ad- 
justed to shavin,Q- oft a thin layer of earth and to dis- 
tributin.q- in a thin la\'er. It has a .i^reat advautaije over 
the slush scraper in mo\in,!;- earth down .s^rade. because 




DRAINAGE 



219 



more than cniough to fill the scraper can be shoved 
forward. It is made in two and fonr-horse sizes, and 
shonld be rapidly introdnced. 

The wheel scraper is an improved form of the scraper 
monnted on wheels, and is adapted to work where the 
earth nuist be drawn long'er distances than will warrant 
the economical nse of the slnsh or the Fresno scraper. 

The common field plow and the heavy road grading 
plow are sometimes nsed in opening ont the first portion 
of small drains and loosening the earth in large ditches 




Figure 11';. Outlet which of necessity opens iiiuler the surface of a stream or pond, 
thus entlangering the tiles from splitting hy freezing, when filled with water. A few 
rods of the drain next to the outlet might better be made of oak boards nailed 
together so as to form a snnare box. 

where other machinery or even spades are used to take 
up the loosened earth. 

The reversible road machine has come to be recog- 
nized as a very important implement in making open 
drains. With this machine, broad, flat drains can be 
made which will carry large volumes of water and which 
can easily be cleaned out by using the same machine. 
In many cases crops can be grown over the banks and 
within the broad flat ditches, thus making the drain 
useful for removing the flood water without seriously 
injuring the area useful for the common crops of the 
field. In other cases, these broad, flat drains may be 
sown to permanent g'rass and mowed two or more times 
annually. This insures a ditch free from debris and 



220 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



often crops of valuable forage. Since the use of road 

machines is described more in detail under the heading 

of road making, a discussion 
of their operation will not be 
necessary here. In Figure 
Ii8 is shown the cross- 
section of a ditch made with 
a reversible road machine 
where it is desirable to have 
the ditch next to a fence with 
one side not rounded so as to 
be crossed with teams and im- 
])lements. The side next to 
the fence can be left nearly 
vertical, as at A; it can be 
made slanting, as shown by the 
dotted line, B ; or. if it is de- 
sired even thus close to the 
fence, it can be made rounded 
as at the dotted line. C. The 
earth taken from the ditch can 
be left in a sharp ridge, as at 
D ; can l)e thrown up into a 
rounded form, as at F ; or can 
e\'cn l^e smoothed down by 

carrying it back on the adjacent land, as at E. This 

class of machine is not adapted to making very heavy 

ditches, though, in many cases, 

the upper portion of the ditch 

may be opened by means ot 

the road machine. 

The elevating grader is very 

useful in opening large drainage canals. This machine 

does heavy work at a comparatively low cost per cubic 

yard of earth handled. 

Ditching plow. — A very strongly constructed plow 




Figure 114. General plan of a si!t 
well, two branch tiles entering and 
main discharging. The silt accumu- 
lating at O by settling in the nearly 
fluiet water should be cleaned out as 
required, lifting the stone, X, for that 
purpose. 




DKAIXACE 



22! 




Figure 115a. Fresno scraper. 



made to resemble somewhat the common stubble plow 
and very useful in drainage operations. Either this or the 
common plow is often used to break up the soil before 
carrying it to one side with the reversible machine, or 




Figure 116. Wheel scraper, lowered for flUing. 



picking it up with the wheel or slush scraper, or throw- 
ing it into wagons with the shovel or spade. 

Vertical and special drains. — While most farm drainage 
can be accomplished by means of either open drains or 



222 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




Figure 117. Reversible road raaclnne making lateral ditches which run into a lar^'e 
drainage canal made heyniid by the elevating grader. 



tile drains, there are other forms of tb-ains wliich are 
useful for special conditions. Draina.i.;e wells are useful 
where vertical drains can be made cheaply throug'h 
impervious layers of clay or st(inc wliich hold the water 

in the saucer-shaped 
area, thus carrying the 
water downward into 
the non water-bearing 
stratum of grax-el or 
sand below. In h^igure 
131 the hills surround- 
ing the low area are Sf> 
high that a horizontal 
drain under the ad- 
joining hill would be 
^'ery expensixe. A well 
is sunk at one side, or if a dry time can be found wdien 
the low area is dry. the well can be sunk in the midst of 
the w^et area. Drain tiles, laid from i to 3 feet under- 













■ 






' 


-—r" 


^■^^=^3^ 


• 



l''lgure US. .Allowing fcjrnis of ditch lieside a 
fence line, as at the side of a public highway. 
A-n, ditch made with steep bank ami dirt left in 
hlgli ridge. B-F. ditcli made witli slanting outer 
liaiik and ridge rounded dnwn. C-K, ditch 
iiiiinded and eartli spread out sii flial lanil can lie 
mmvcd or even cultivated to tlie roadway, as at 1'. 



DRAINAGE 



223 



neath the surface. receiAe the water, thoroughly filtered 
and clear of sediment, and carry it to the drainage well 
by which it is carried through the iniper\-ious layer and 




Figure 119. Elevating grader opening large ditcli. 

enters the loose gravel or sand layer below. If the 
water were allowed to run from the surface into the 
drainage well, so much debris would be carried in that 
the well would soon become clogged and water would 




Figure 120. Floating dredge. I.iuigitudinal view sliowing scoop taking eartli out of 
tlie ditdi in front of tlie Imat. C'loss-section showing scoop in position to deposit 
earth on the bank of the canal. 



no longer sink freely through it. However, in some 
instances, where the impervious layer is near the sur- 
face and is not thick, drainage wells may be left open 



224 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



[n receive 
clogged up 



the surface water, and as soon as one is 
another can be dug. Where these drain- 
age wells must be 
dug to a considerable 
depth, they must be 
walled with brick, 
stone, sewer pipe, iron 
pipe, or even with 
tul^ing made of boards. 
In case of expensive 
wells, thev should be 




Figure 121. Open ditch with banks 1 to 1, A-A; 
I'i to 1. B-B; and 2 to 1, C-C. 



\Qvy carefully 
guarded at 
the surface 
to avoid the 
entrance of 
dirt, and the 
tile drains 
leading into 
the m should 
he s (T c o n - 




I'loper form of siiif.ire ditch where earth is tirm. 



Struct ed that all 
water coming 
into the wells 
may be most 
thoroughly fil- 
tered by first 
passing down- 
ward through 
a few feet of 
soil. It is es- 

f'ross-section of ditch made with capstan ditch- SCUtjal tO kuOW 

that the 
stratum into which the water is to be drained has an 
outlet and sufficient carrying or storage capacity at all 
times to care for the water which will be brought 




FiRure 12" 

I!,' plow. 



DRAINAGE 



225 



to it. This cannot be determined by the effects of 

drainage wells upon other similar strata, but only by a 

knowledge of the very 

same bed of material 

which receives the 

drainage for which 

disposal is sought. 

Sewers used to drain 
lands. — In some situa- 
ations outlets for open 
drains can be secured 
only with difficulty. 
The water must be car- 




Figure 124. Tlie dotted lines mark the cross- 
section of a deep, narrow ditch made with a ditch- 
ing plow, and the wavj- line the angle of repose 
sought by the banks when they have fallen in. 




Figure 12."). Cross-section of ditcl 
which tumbles or is wasned In easily. 



ried long distances 
through neighboring 
tields or along road- 
ways, and possibly the 
fall is insufficient to 
allow the water to run 
off freely. A deep drain 
through an adjacent 
portion of higher land, 
with a low area on the 
through soil oppositc sidc, may pro- 
vide a short but ex- 
pensive outlet in the 
form of an open ditch 
or a covered sewer. In 
this case, the sewer is 
not only less expen- 
sive, but sometimes 
better than the 
wide open ditch, 

the tiles and narrow ditch costing less than the 
open ditch. Either drain tile or sewer tile may 
be thus used to receive surface water at the 




Figure 126. Cross-section of ditch made with 
pade tlirough peaty soil. 



226 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



upper end, if sufficient fall can be provided so that 
the water will run with rapidity and make the ditch 
clean itself of silt and not become cloaked. The distinc- 




Figuie 127. Xiurow deep dileli with braueil poles protecting 
the sides from wiishiiig. 



tion between a sewer and an underdrain may be stated 
as follows : The sewer receives surface water contain- 
ing; solid materials, while the underdrain, the upper end 
of which is usuall}' closed by a stone or broken piece of 



/ B 

1 . f, 








^ 


>\ 








A 






1 \ 










_4 r- 


\ 
\ 


, 








/ . 




















Vb^^ 




t 























l''ls,'iire I:;s. 
ing Wilier finiii 



(hiiiiiiitje w.'ll l.cside 
' pdiul iiilo tlie well. 



l"iiid, I"., tilt drains cuiiduel- 



DRAINAGE 



227 




tile, receives its water only after it has filtered through 
a few feet of soil and carries very little solid sediment. 
In cold countries, the sewer will sometimes allow the 
water to flow through 
much earlier in the 
spring than will the 
deep open drain under 
the conditions just men- 
tioned, since the ice and 
snow that will accumu- 
late in the deep ditch tlle .Irain aiscluugmg into drainage well; ( 

J , ij 1 1 r poidus eartli; I), impervious stratum througli 

must be melted l:)etOre wluch the water cannot sink; E. layer of gravel 

, into whicli Hie water entering the well will siiiU. 

tlie accumulated water 

can begin to flow. This difference often makes it wise 
to use the sewer rather than the open drain in carrying 
si;rface water through higher portions of land. The cost. 

however, must be very care- 
fully calculated because large 
tiles and the deep excavations 
for such sewers are expensive. 
Stone and board drains. — 
In the earlier history of drain- 
age. l)efore earthen tiles were 
used, stone and wood, and 
even pieces of sod and peat, 
were used in the construction 
of underdrains. In Figure 
131 are shown drains made 
of stone laid in different ways. 
In iMgure 132 is shown the Y- 
shai)ed drain in the bottom of 
tlu' ditch ciixcred with a plank 
laid oil shoulders of earth, this 
])lank sustaining the weight of 

Figure 130. Vertical outlet for tile tllC Carth tlirOWn back intO 
drains through impervious stratum 

into suatvmi whkji will receive the tlic (litcli, also Other iiiethods 

water from the tile driuus. ' 




■■Q''i4\t.i.- 



228 



KAK.M i)i:VL:L()PMENT 




of usin.sj;' stones and l^jards in making' nnderdrains. 

Underdraining peaty lands. — Instead of tiles laid 

in the bottom of the ditch in peaty soils, continnous 

bundles of crooked hardwood ])o]cs are sometimes so 

laid that the 
water can pass 
among" the m 
and thus run 
off. See Figures 
133 and 134. 

Kisuie l:!l. ]>iaiiis made by laving Huoi- stuni's iu bottuni \'\ hcrC t h C S 6 
of the ditch, and covering either by laying cover stone on wall 

stone, as at A, by leaning two stones together, as at B, or by draillS ai'C laid 
constructing an arch of small stones, as at C. 

in peaty lands 
covered with heather, or with other low shrubs, small 
woody plants can be used to place first over the bundles 
of poles thus preventing the rotted peat, with which the 
remainder of the ditch is filled, from sifting down among 
the poles and 
clogging t h e 
drain. Tn many 
cases the tiles 
may be laid at 
sufficient dei)th 
to be in the 
hard ground 
l:)eneath the 
peat. 

Dikes, pumps 
and gate s. — 

As our lands become more ^•aluable the reclamation of 
fields now covered with water, at the edge of lakes, along 
ri\-ers. or bordering on the ocean, will repay for drain- 
ing. Here dikes to keep out the flood water are some- 
times necessary. These can be thrown up by means of 
machinery heretofore mentioned, as in Figure 120. In 
case of heavv grading works, tram cars drawn by horses, 



A 






B 




C 


D 


' ' 












\ ':n; 








w 




1 ; 


^ 


.,.,^lZiS. 


m. 


^K 


mmmmm,.... 




^,„^ „ _ 


....,.<.«,^^,^^^i 



Figure 132. 
in ihc biJttoni 
;inil support i 



itlier nietliods of 



A, drain made by covering a V-shaped groove 

or the ditcli by a board resting on snouiders 

the earlli retinnfil to Uie ditcli. B, C, D, 



free drainage without tiles. 



DRAINAGE 



229 



«;::liiiif 



or by other power, may be the practical means of moving 
the earth. The immense dikes, in part built generations 
ago, reclaiming large portions of Holland, have thor- 
oughly demon- 
strated that if 
the area is 
large Aery ex- 
pensive drains 
may be eco- 
nomical. Along 
the Mississippi 
river immense 
areas ha\'e been 
reclaimed from 
flooding b y 

building dikes. 




liguie 1 

or "levees," confinmg the 
waters to the natural chan- 
nel. Along man}^ of our 
streams, beside lakes and 
along the ocean coast lines, 
there are large areas which 
are occasionally flc^oded or 
are daily affected by high 
tide, and as great damage 
often results to the growing 
crops, their use for farms is 
not practicable without con- 
trol of the water. In Figures 
135. 143 and 144, with the 
subjoined notes, is shown 
how drainage and irrigation 
ma\- be combined. By dik- 
ing and draining with open 
and tile ditches to a pit from 

Figures IXi Hnd 134. Longitudinal and , . , , . , 

cross-sections of pole drain in peaty land. whlCh the Water IS PUmped 
A. poles; Y, heather or otlier small shrubs ' '■ 

fimnr?he d""' "^ """"' ^' ^"'''^^ '"" into the lake. Fields H and I, 




230 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




Figure 143, are traiisfornied into arable land. Here the 
same pump serAes for both drainage and irrigation. 
This is a small illustration of how drainage is carried 
out on a large scale in districts with lands subject to 
flooding from ocean, lake or river; and it serves also to 
show how irrigation ma}' be economically arranged on 
some lands in countries sul^ject to an occasional drouth. 
In some cases, co-operative associations are able to 
undertake the construction of these dikes: in other cases, 

the count y, 
state, or even 
the nation, 
must co-oper- 
ate in their con- 
struction and 
maintenance. 
AMiere diking 

Figure 135. S, iiiiulw.i.v aiul emh.iiilimeiit between low iiie.n • r1r>n<i fViort" 

;iiid .stream whicli ilisch.irges into the liilie; K. pumping engine; '-^ UUllC LllcX c 
T. pit into Hhicli tlrains discliarge and from whicli tlie water ., 

is pumped; W. water discharging into the lake; N, open ditcli are gCnerallV 

flowing into tlie pit ; X, emljankraent be.side the lake. "" , ' 

some supple- 
mentar}' arrangements necessary for taking care of the 
water from the rainfall, and also of the flood water from 
drainage arc*!as in a direction opposite to that from 
which the main flood water is held back liy dikes. In 
some cases, water can be drained ofi^ in open ditches 
nearly parallel to the line of the dike, and follow the river 
to a lower level. In other cases, as along lakes and by 
coast waters, there' is no opportunity for carrying off 
this surface and flood water, except by elevating it to the 
other side of the dike l)y means of machinery operated 
by wind, steam or other cheap power. The engineering 
].)roblems of diking and drainage to elevating stations, 
while representing large interests, do not present un- 
usual difficulties. As a rule, the most difficult problem 
is to determine the relation between cost and benefit, 
though in many cases in America, as well as in other 



DRAINAGE 23 1 

countries, there are extensive areas where the cost of 
diking would be only a small fraction of the increased 
value of the reclaimed land. Back water gates are often 
necessary where diking and draining are combined. 
Where fresh water is kept off the land by means of 
dikes, a system of irrigation often can readily be intro- 
duced in combination with the drainage. 

Open drains should be kept free from obstructions, such 
as grass, growing weeds and weeds blown in from sur- 
rounding fields. The accumulations which arise from 
banks caving in, or from earth or material washed into 
the ditch by water or blown in by the wind, as dust from 
plowed lands, should be early removed, since obstructions 
of this kind tend to accumulate still more of similar ma- 
terials. The grade should be kept uniform that any 
sediment coming into the running water may be carried 
on to the outlet. Thus, in a ditch carrying considerable 
water, a slushing device which will stir up the loose 
mud and help the water carry it forward is sometimes a 
practical means of clearing the ditch. In some cases a 
device with shovels, as those from a common cultivator, 
will answer. A broad board faced with a steel cutting 
edge and held upright by means of a tongue or by han- 
dles, is sometimes used. This kind of a device will not 
work well except where there is current enough to carry 
the dirt forward, as finely divided particles, in the water. 
Much depends upon the kind of soil also. Some kinds 
of fine clay may thus be carried off rapidly in the water. 

Tile drains should be inspected occasionally. The 
outlet should be visited to learn whether the water is 
running freely. In cases where portions of drains have 
been laid through quicksand, which may filter in and fill 
the tiles, or where for other special reasons clogging is 
feared, investigations are occasionally necessary to see 
that all parts of the drains are carrying awav the sur- 
plus w^ater. Silt wells, or even peep holes, aid in this 



232 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

inspection. Tile drains which are no longer working 
must be dug up and repaired. Thus drains which have 
been clogged by roots of trees growing in and filling them 
with the fibrous mass, must be taken up or, if the trees 
must remain, sewer pipes should be laid with the collars 
packed with cement. Properly laid tiles very rarely fail 
to continue to be indefinitely efficient. In a wide ex- 
perience the writer knows of only relatively very few 
tile drains which have become obstructed. 

Drainage education. — Education in farm sul:)jects is 
now making such rapid strides that anyone needing a 
knowledge of a particular subject can find some means 
of gaining information along the desired line. The 
national government at Washington is taking an active 
part in drainage and other rural engineering subjects. 
Fifty or more agricultural colleges are dealing with the 
subject of drainage from the standpoint of the needs of 
the respective states. Some of these colleges have de- 
partments of agricultural engineering, and in these schools 
men are trained with a general knowledge of rural en- 
gineering, who can easily master the subject of any drain- 
age project so as to be useful in planning and super- 
intending the construction of large drainage and diking 
enterprises. Traveling farmers' institutes are adapted to 
encouraging neighborhoods where drainage is needed that 
have not undertaken the reclamation and improvement 
of wet lands, giving the knowledge, not only of how to 
unite on some co-operative plan, but also the knowledge 
of how to secure information as to the details of how 
drains improve the farm and how the plans can be made 
and the construction be carried out. The agricultural 
press contains articles on this subject and agricultural 
editors will gladly answer questions from farmers as to 
methods, etc. Bulletins and reports from the United 
States Department of Agriculture, from the state experi- 
ment stations and aqriculttn-al colleges of the different 



DRAINAGE 233 

States, also the annual reports of the farmers' institutes 
and state agricultural organizations contain reports on 
the subject. Associations of manufacturers of drain 
tiles, of drainage machinery and of farmers and engineers 
interested in land drainage have done much to promote 
this subject. 



CHAPTER X 



IRRIGATION 



Since ancient limes, irrigation has l:)een practiced in 
semi-arid and arid countries. Applying water to grow- 
ing crops l)y carrying it out into the fields through 
ditches and allowing it to spread over and percolate 
into the soil, has assumed immense proportions in the 
more arid regions of the United States. Even in the 
states further east than the Mississippi river, irrigation 
is found very profitable under some conditions. The 
national government has inaugurated a very large 
scheme of co-operation in which, through an organiza- 
tion called the Reclamation Service under the Depart- 
ment of the Interior, it joins with mau}^ landowners 
and aids prospective purchasers of public lands in 
the construction of immense systems for irriga- 
tion. In some cases canals are built taking water 
directly from streams to the land. In many cases dams 
are necessarv to raise the level of the water in the 
streams from which the w^ater is drawn. In other cases 
immense dams are made to create great storage reser- 
voirs in which supplies of water are accumulated to be 
used when the crops most need them. The United 
States Department of Agriculture also is doing much in 
co-operation with private parties or organizations who 
are irrigating lands. This department is aiding not only 
in making plans for irrigation plants both by the gravity 
plan, and by pumping by wind or other power, but it is 
also studying methods of distributing the water to the 
farmers and to their crops, and is investigating methods 
of farm management under irrigation. The engineering 
plans being worked out by the Reclamation Service alone 
involve many millions of dollars and with the co-opera- 
tion of the United States Department of Agriculture 



IRRIGATION 



235 



will make many thousands of irrigated farms available 
for farmers. Care is being used that these lands may be 
divided into family farms and thus made to serve well 
the largest possible number of people and to increase 
the number of America's farm homes. This constitutes 
the most extensive irrigation scheme ever undertaken, 
and is one of the most ambitious engineering feats ever 
entered upon. It is a public enterprise which will again 
prove the al^iility of a republican form of government to 
f 




^m 



Figuie I06. Showing ditch from stieiim. lake or reservoir through excavntion. on an 
embankment, across a low area, and through land at grade. 



carry out large national movements which benefit the 
whole people. Through this work the United States 
government is extending its policy, inaugurated through 
the national homestead law, of dividing the land into 
family farms. 

Xot only is irrigation profitable in arid and semi-arid 
countries, but also in countries where the rainfall is not 
evenly distributed throughout those months in which 
crops make their greatest growth. Irrigation on a large 
scale is practicable only where streams, lakes, rivers. 



^^^^ 


^ 




f ,,p.,,^..,J,,T 


=^^-^=^ ^ 


lii.' '.■: 'vvAYtO' ''^"~^-- -■- "-■■- '-.""i-ii 


^^^ \^ 


'<ct 


<ir- 


1 


^^>,<;S=:m^S^^^M,, 



Figure 137. Showing ditch extended across a low place through an iron conduit sup- 
ported on trestle work. 




236 



ikKrcAi'io.v 



237 



artesian wells or artificial storage reservoirs furnish large 
supplies of water. Someone has illustrated the limita- 
tions of irrigation in the great arid West by comparing 
the whole droughty plains and intermountain areas in 
which the rainfall is light to a twenty-acre field with 
one furrow plowed across it, the furrow representing 




Figure i;;:t. Portable eiiKim 



d for puniphiy water fcir lloniliiit; lice lieUts in Texas. 



that proportion of the whole for which the water is avail- 
able for irrigation. The semi-arid area on which dry- 
land farming must be carried on is very extensive, and 
farm management there must be planned to conserve, 
for the use of crops, the small amount of water annually 
precipitated. In many places the windmill, or steam or 
gasoline engine to pump water from wells upon limited 
areas, as near buildings, will help make possible the 
development of a homelike farmstead on large ranch-like 



2^8 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

farms in semi-arid regions, and will give some food 
for man and beast, even in the exceptional years of 
least rainfall, and will help make the farm pav in all 
3-ears. 

In regions like Minnesota, on the other hand, the many 
streams, the thousands of lakes, the large quantities of 
available well water, the less amounts of water required 
for irrigation where the rainfall is nearly sufficient, and 
the possibility of storing surface water in large artificial 
reservoirs, will make it comparatively easy to irrigate 
large areas of land. Good lands haAc been so cheap that 
farmers and gardeners have only begun to appreciate 
the fact that at no distant date the higher price of lands, 
together with the cheapened machinery and possibly 
cheaper labor, will make irrigation profitable in many 
places where the rainfall has been heretofore wholly 
depended upon. 

Sources of water. — The bulk of irrigation is now done 
where the water is obtained from mountain streams or 
rivers so situated that the water may be led out. by means 
of canals and ditches, to lands which are nearly level, in 
the valley lower down the stream. These ditches are 
usually laid out with a very gentle slope, through the low 
lands or around the borders of the hills. Branches from 
the main canal are led off to the various tracts of land to 
be irrigated, where the ditches are further branched and 
the water carried to the farms and fields. In many 
cases, lakes and reservoirs are employed in which to store 
up flood water for use during the dry season when the 
water in the streams is low. In other cases, the storage 
capacity of lakes has been very greatly increased by 
means of dams across their outlets. 

Storage reservoirs are being made in many places by 
building dams across valleys, thus conserving large 
quantities of water which can be led out and spread 
over the fields in times of drought. As a rule, these 



IRKIGATTON 239 

storag-e reservoirs are filled by the flood water which 
naturally flows through the valley in the springtime, 
but which is saved up for use in the summer. In some 
cases the water which is used to fill the reservoirs is 
provided by springs and artesian wells. These form 
comparatively small streams during the entire year, hence 
storage reservoirs are necessary to store up their water 
that it may be available for use in the season of plant 
growth. In some instances the water from springs and 
wells, instead of being carried to tanks or other reser- 
voirs to be used for garden and orchard crops, or even 
for field crops, is spread directly upon the fields. 

Where vegetables, fruit or other crops which bring 
large amounts of money per acre, are grown, a large ex- 
pense per acre can be put into irrigation with profit. 
These valuable lands, under intensive cultivation, require 
a large expense for seeds, manures and labor. Rather 
than risk the loss of these investments, it is often wise 
to invest sufficient money in an irrigation plant to water 
the crops, and thus insure the larger yields and high 
quality which will bring an income sufficient to pay ex- 
penses and leave a larger profit. In dry years, when 
other growers have short crops, the farmer who is pre- 
pared to irrigate secures both a large crop and high 
prices for his produce. 

Legislation. — A prominent jurist recently said that 
irrigation laws were becoming one of the most com- 
plicated features of American jurisprudence. No at- 
tempt will here be made to more than analyze the gen- 
eral principles upon which these laws are constructed. 
The water of streams which passes through the lands of 
many owners is recognized as belonging to the public 
rather than to individual citizens ; at the same time, this 
water is for the use of whoever can utilize it. Since 
expense must be incurred in preparing to use water, 
either for irrigation or for power to be employed in 



240 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



nianufacturini;-, the public must recognize that landown- 
ers Avl]o build irrigation ditches, or manufacturers 
who construct dams, are entitled to consideration, 
and that they acquire rights which the public must 
respect through suitable legislation and court decrees. 
Thus, if one man or firm builds an expensive irrigation 
canal through which is conveyed all the water from a 




Figure 140. Stationary engine raising water by steam power on rice fields in Tex:is 
where thousiinds of acres are irrigated by means of very large pumps. 



stream and makes use of it upon fields, a wrong would 
be done if another man or firm were to make a similar 
irrigation canal further up the stream, thus intercepting 
the flow of water and causing the first party to lose the 
value of the expenditure in making the first canal. The 
second party, however, might properly make a canal 
further up the stream if he used only part of the water, 
allowing sufficient to flow to the first canal to furnish 



IRRIGATIOX 241 

all the water there needed. In case of large streams 
still other canals can be built and eventually the public 
can recognize through its laws and court decrees that 
each party has a right to a certain amount of water. 

In case of successive years of small rainfall, there 
might be w^ater sufficient only for the needs of the 
farmers along the canal first built. In this case, the 
parties interested in the canals constructed at a later 
date must properly give way and allow the water to be 
used by the parties who made the first ditch, even though 
it is further down the stream. In years when there is 
not water enough for all, the proper division of the 
available water is a difficult matter, and in many cases 
laws have been designed under which officials of the state 
act in making an equitable division of water according 
to the rights and needs of the several parties interested. 

AVhile priority of right is thus recognized, it has been 
found difficult to frame laws under wdiich the rights of 
all can be respected and the best interest of the largest 
number served. The land which is available to irrigate 
wdth any given supply of water is entered at different 
times ; having been purchased or homesteaded from the 
government or secured in other ways, as by grants to 
railways, etc. The irrigation ditches are begun by the 
government, by individuals and by corporations, who in 
turn subdivide their lands by selling to individual own- 
ers. The relations among promoters of irrigation ditches, 
and between these and owners of the land, become very 
complicated. The various states of the arid west have 
enacted many laws to deal with these complicated con- 
ditions. These laws have generally been made by piece- 
meal and are sometimes aptly termed " patch quilts." 
The decisions of courts in dealing with litigations in 
individual cases have been numerous and often conflict- 
ing. Thus, the network of legal relations concerning 
many of the irrigation enterprises in the West are ex- 



242 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



ceedingly intricate and in many cases most embarrass- 
ing, often stopping the utilization of valuable water 
supplies because of the unsettled legal problems con- 
nected therewith. The general government is not only 
studying these problems, but has entered upon a vigor- 
ous policy of overcoming the difficulties of co-operation 
in making the best possible use of the available supplies 




Figure 141. Flcnviiig artesian well in Nebraska. Willi nine wells, with 6-inch pipes, 
112 acres are irrigated for very sliglit cost. dJ. S. Geol. .Sime.v— Irrigation Paper 2i).) 



of \\ater. States whicli haxe not as yet enacted laws 
relating to irrigation ha\ e a great advantage in that 
they may start with general laws in which are recog- 
nized the general principles as em])hasized by the best 
business and legal experience in the drouthier states 
which earlier began the use of irrigation waters. 

Irrigation laws should recognize, in some comiM-ehcn 
si\e \va\-. and in sufficient detail to meet the \aricd con- 



IRRIGATION 243 

ditions, the priority of the right to use water as acquired 
by those first entering upon such use. That the state 
should, in some instances, reserve the ownership of the 
water and the right to regulate its use, or even after a 
certain date demand a rental price, is advocated by 
some people. These laws should contain regulations 
under which public officers and officers of co-operative 
associations and priA'ate irrigation companies must work 
in distributing the water to the various citizens and 
individual users. 

Proper provisions should be made for the appoint- 
ment of competent officials under some system of civil 
service. Suitable means for locating, altering and even 
discontinuing irrigation ditches and aqueducts should 
be provided. Comprehensive laws should deal with 
the construction and maintenance of public irrigation 
canals and the distribution of the water to the adjacent 
land. However comprehensivel}' a state may devise its 
general law, special and minor laws will be necessary. 
Penalties for injury to canals or gates and for the un- 
authorized use of water are necessary. Tn all states 
where irrigation waters are likely to be used, laws under 
which water rights can be secured should be passed, and 
the county or state engineer should l)e required to make 
surveys with proper records of all claims at the time 
the rights are entered upon for water available for irri- 
gation, and these records should be evidence of priority 
of rights. These records should include a record of the 
size of ditch used in leading the water away from any 
stream or lake. 

Water rights often conflict with the rights of those 
interested in transportation by water. Especially is this 
true with owners of water powers and with logging com- 
panies who desire to use the flood water from rivers, 
lakes and reservoirs to aid them in floating their logs 
to the mills and near to their markets. 




Figure 142. Raising water by liand in Egypt. (Bui. 130, Office of Experiment Sla 
tioiis. United States Department of Agriculture.) 



ikki(.;ati().\ 245 

Most efficient arrangements are being worked out to 
meet all the conditions of law, of ownership of water 
rights and lands, of irregular supply of w-ater, and of 
seasonal needs of crops under large irrigation canals. 
By combining storage reservoirs with the regular sum- 
mer water flow\ by arrangements for exchange of rights 
to water at given times, and by other devices, associa- 
tions of w^ater users, through their officers, can utilize 
water to the best possible advantage. The building of 
reservoirs in which to store up flood water has only 
l)egun to utilize the vast resources of this class of waters. 

Surveying and mechanical appliances used in irrigation 
construction are mainly the same as those used in mak- 
ing drainage systems, as illustrated on previous pages. 

Irrigation canals must have sufficient fall so that the^' 
will carry the required amount of water, but should not 
have so much fall that the water, in rushing through 
them, will wash or destroy their banks. The aim is to 
give a velocity that will prevent the deposit of silt in the 
main canal and not cause serious erosion. Three feet 
per second is the usual maximum velocity. The grades 
of western canals and ditches var}^ from 6 inches 
to 50 feet per mile. The more nearly level the grade, 
the larger must be the cross-section of the ditch. The 
engineer must make the calculation in each individual 
case and decide upon the plan which will accom]:»lish the 
desired results in the best manner and at a minimum 
expense. In case of aqueducts of wood, stone or metal, 
where the danger of injury from rapidly flowing water is 
slight, much is gained by having the grade steep so as to 
have a larger amount of water flow rapidly through a com- 
])arativeh^ small, and therefore less expensive, aqueduct. 

Wood and iron aqueducts. — In many places it is neces- 
sary to carry the water across low areas. In some cases, 
aqueducts can be made by building a grade of earth or of 
masonry, as in Figure 136, In other cases the depth is 



246 



FARM DKVliLOPMENT 




b g-3 



:; a ?f 

3 s.s 






:t JC — 

*~3 o 



^S* 



so great that acjueducts of wood or iron are necessary. 
Most of tlie irrigation, however, can be accomplished by 
means of earthen canals, though, in many cases, more 
expensive structures ha\e been made to produce hand- 
some profits 



IRRIGATION 247 

Machinery for elevating water. — ^Nluch is being done 
to devise methods of elevating water by machinery. 
Steam and gasoline engines and windmills perform 
the great bulk of this work. In the rice-growing regions 
of Texas and in arid regions, large engines are used to 
pump the water from streams or reservoirs, or from 
wells, thus, in some cases, directly supplying vast tracts 
of land when the crops especially need the water. In 
other cases the water is pumped into reservoirs to be 
available when needed by the crops, ^^^indmills and 
small engines are often used on farms to utilize a small 
amount of water from wells or other sources to irrigate 
the farmstead and perchance a small area of fields. 
Especially is this advantageovis in dry regions where 
most of the land is used for pasturage, or is subject to 
years of serious drouth. Here the limited acreage of 
irrigated land greatly aids in tiding over the dry years, 
as well as adds to the products in the years of more 
ample rainfall. The storage of pumped water and its 
distribution through open ditches is carried out much 
as in case of water secured by gravitation. 

In Figure 143 is shown a farm with four large fields, 
A, B, C and D : three small fields, E, F and G ; and two 
very rich fields. II and I, from a reclaimed swamp, the 
surface of which is practical]}- on a le^•eI with the water 
in the adjoining lake. All fields are fenced. The area 
surrounded by the line, K, incloses all the land which 
drains into this low area. The stream. P, P, receiving 
the water also from the stream, S, S, was not well de- 
fined from T to T. If straightened and deepened be- 
tween these points, and if the earth excavated be used for 
an embankment, U to U, the water can be carried 
directly to the lake without longer flooding the flat area. 
Since the flat area receives only the water from its own 
surface, and from small parts of fields, B, D and G, and 
since the subsoil is too dense for seepage water to come 



248 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



in from the adjacent streams and lake, it can be drained 
by draining it into a pit and pumping out the water, as 
shown in Figure 144. The drainage is accomplished by 
means of a system of tile drains M and N, or N (Figure 
143) can be an open drain, all leading to the pit, O, 
from which the engine at A\' can raise the water a few 
feet and discharge it into the lake ( as shown at W, 
Figure 143), across the road embankment, which keeps 
the water out of the low area, or send it through a pipe 
(as shown at L. Figure 144), to the crown of the low 






/ 


\.A 


nA\// 


^^ 











^i>^:M,r4 



:m 



M 



Figure 144. E. pumping engine; T, pit intu wliieli drains discliarge, and from wliicli 
irrigation water is pumped; B. bridge across stream: S. roadway; N, open ditcli along 
roadway; X, embankment confining tlie stream; L, line of pipe, through whicli irriga- 
tion water is carried to fields. 



hill at K. K, K, where it can be spread out through open 
ditches and used for irrigating fields, F, E. C and G. 
When the drainage ditches from fields H and I do not 
supply water for irrigation, water can be pumped from 
the lake or from the stream. P. P. 

Farm irrigation schemes. — The layout of a farm which 
is to be irrigated is often a more complicated engineer- 
ing proposition than the organization of a farm in a 
climate where the natural rainfall is depended upon. 
The main field supply ditches often are the best field 
boundaries. A system of ditches, furrows, check sys- 
tem embankments and ditch oi)enings must be de- 



IRRIGATION 



249 



vised for each field and eacli orchard. Often a system 
must be provided to remove seepage water from lower 
lands, and, where seepage waters evaporate, even to pre- 
vent or cure alkali. In planning the irrigation scheme 
a plan of crop rotation should be also devised which will 
arrange for the most profitable use of the land and water. 







,|l^i<^K'iw'l^jl>^i 




Ak AL^AiFAU- W V^ATCfi V I fi filOATlOf\ 

O- tRRfCAT/Or^ 0/ o/iCHAR£> &y £.ARO£ f 1/^/^0 

C^ECH SrST£Af L= fR/i/CAT/O/V OA ALf'ALFA B^^l 

OF tRRfCAT£0 *>0»r/OA/ *.s=ss, =. CMBANMM£j^r^ 

Figure 145. Dnnviiig of a model of irrigation plan disijlayed in plaster at the St. 
Louis World's Fair. 



voce 


TABLED 


ay 


5n 


Al 


ri/ 


R/t 


OK/ J 




D- 


IRRICA 


TlOfV 


0/ 


RA 


/voe 


OA 


?C^A/9 


Qr r^f 


^iooa 


/■^C 5i. 


O/^f 


Cfif 


CA 


TCfie 


r/y 


AtJ f^Ofi 


^£-sr 


OlNCffA 


SlOPL A 


W 


ro S, 


£ 







That these should be devised at the same time is mani- 
fest, since the system of applying the water and the 
times of applying it must be adapted alike to all crops 
in the rotation scheme. The organization of farms, and 
especially the planning of irrigated farms, is destined to 
become a technical profession needing men skilled to 
assist the farmer in working out his own knowledge and 
ideas into an organized plan which will enable him to 
make profits. I^ike rural architecture, the planning of 



250 



FAR M DF.VF.LOP AJ FNT 



family farms deals with small units, hence a professional 
class of rural engineers skilled in this work has not yet 
l)een established. .\s yet there is a comparatively small 
number of engineers prepared to earn the fees which 
wealthy men are willing to pay for plans for the organ- 
ization of their large estates. Hie basic data are being 
wrought out which will eventually so serve the man 
trained in using water and in organizing irrigated 
farms that he will be of great assistance to 
the general irrigation farmer. The support of such men 

at public expense is 
coining to be recognized 
as a \ cry proper way of 
]) r o V i d i n g a certain 
kind of teaching called 
demonstration farming. 
The farmer the expert 
trained in using irriga- 

Figuie 146. Trial survey line and adopted tlOU Watcr, and tllC pmi- 
rinnse for main caiuil frum D. past M, to .\. • 1 r il TJ j. 1 

cipal of the consolidated 
rural school, co-operating, can often work out a plan for a 
new farm, or can plan for the reorganization of an old 
farm. The students of the consolidated rural and 
village school can have the benefit of the various steps 
in devising the plans, in developing the farm under the 
new plan, and in studying the figures and facts re- 
sulting from putting the plans to the test in the pro- 
duction of crops and in the yielding of profits to the 
owner. 

In Figure 145 some features of irrigation are illustrated 
by means of a drawing showing a model plan in plaster 
of paris exhibited at the World's Fair at St. Louis by the 
American Association of Agricultural Colleges and Ex- 
periment Stations. The water is represented as con- 
veyed through a main canal to a reservoir and from there 
conveyed through a continuation of the main canal, main 




IKKIGATTO.V 



2; I 



is raised into the main canal by means uf a dam in the 
stream snpplyini^' il. The main canal is shown as ]:)ass- 
ing through a tunnel under a rocky ridge, through a tiume 
across a ravine, and into a reservoir where a small flow 
of water is accumulated for use when needed hv the 
crops. 

The map shows the manner of carrying water to the 
respecti\-e fields and of distributing it by flooding on 
sloping land, as on alfalfa in Field K; by flooding bc- 




Figure 147. J iifcli (li up t(] (iin the h itti uf a iitcli to a lower level. 



tween dikes on land not quite level, as for alfalfa on h'ield 
A ; b}^ large furrows, as in the orchard in Field O ; by 
small furrows, as for vegetables in Field V ; by flooding 
in a check system, as the orchard in Field D. An alkali 
swamp is also shown, and beside it a swamp with no 
alkali, drained by open ditches. In many cases alkali 
swamps located like the upper one are benefited by 
imderdrainage. Since irrigation structures are usually 
permanent there is especial reason for the use of great 
intelligence in making plans which will best serve the 



~^~ 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



purpose; and for great care in builditig the ditches, dams 
and gates. 

Conveying water from source to farms. — Choosing 
the point at whicli the main canal will receive the 
water from the stream, lake, reservoir or pump; 
deciding upon the course of the canal, and plan- 
ning the head gate and the construction of the canal, 
with any necessary flumes, tunnels and drops, often 
form a complex problem. In large and complicated 

projects only 
trained engineers 
experienced in 
this class of 
work can assem- 
ble the neces- 
sary facts upon 
which to base 
judgments and 
can devise plans 
which will serve 
in carrying the 
water effectively 
and econom- 
ically. Experts 
in soils and farm 
management are needed to form difficult judgments as 
to the value of lands which it is proposed to supply with 
water at large expense, that enterprises be not under- 
taken wliich will not prove to be profitable. 

In Figure 146 are shown two lines of survey made in the 
selection of a ditch line from the highest part of the 
Farm A to some point on the stream D, E. D is found 
to be the practical place for the head gate. The trial 
line, D, F. A, following a gentle grade about the bases 
of the hills, makes too long a line and some rocky ex- 
cavating is necessary. By placing a drop at INI to drop 




Figure 148. Division box. shouiiig how part or all li 
water can be tlinieil from a ditob into lalcral.s. (Aflt'i- V. > 
Farmers' Bulletin. 2(io.) 



IRRIGATION 



253 



the water to a lower level, the main ditch can go through 
land in which a canal can be cheaply constructed. 

Often it is necessary to drop the level of water in a 
ditch to avoid long ditches around hills or to avoid too 
much fall and thus prevent erosion by too rapid flow of 
water. The general plan of structure with boards, 
shown in Figure 147, can be followed, or a permanent 
waterfall may be constructed of stones or cement. 

Water gates. — In all complicated systems of irrigating 
canals, gates and weirs must be employed to be used in 
restraining the water and in directing it into the desired 
channels and fields, also to measure out the proper 
amount of 
water to each 
party entitled 
to water. In 
Figure 148 is 
shown a sys- 
tem of three 
gates. The 
gate in the 
main ditch is 
raised so as to 
hold the water 
above it at an 
even height. 
The side gates 
are raised to 
discharge a 

given amount 
of water, as 
determined by a measuring weir below each gate. In 
Figure 149 is shown a simple head gate used by a farmer 
in regulating the water which he desires to flow upon a 
given field. In Figure 150 is shown a side or head gate 
used by a company to regulate the water which its ditch 




Figiire 1 in. Simple liearl sate. 



254 



FARM DEVKLUl'MENT 



agent allows to flow into the supply ditch of a farmer. 
By means of the wheel and screw-rod the gate can be 
raised to allow a given amoimt of water to pass through. 
The arm-nut with chain attached can be so placed on 
the screw-rod as to allow only the allotted amount of 

water to pass under 
the gate, and with pad- 
lock it can be locked so 
that no one can open 
the gate wider. In 
Figure 148 is shown _ a 
form of di\'ision box by 
means of which part 
or all of the water can 
be taken from a main 
ditch and distributed to 
the ditches either side. 
T he gate s. usually 
m a d e of 2 x 4-inch 
u] (rights and 2-inch 
l)lanks, can be so ad- 
justed as to permit the 
d e s i r e d amount of 
water to Mow through 
them. In case of ditches 
which carry water to a 
number r)f users, each 
of whom is entitled to 
a share, the openings 
in the gates are adjusted to measure the water supplied 
through the four laterals, that each may receive his pro- 
portionate share. 

The measuring weir, usually placed in the ditch just 
below the head gate, is a very simple device, by means 
of which the amount of water running through the ditch 
can be measured. Thus the corporate company or the 




Figuie l.'iO 



(1 Kiite Used f(ir regulatina ami mea 



uring water finin oompany <litch in fjirmM-\ ditch. 



IKRIGATION 



25: 



co-operative association of farmers can determine the 
amount of water supplied to each farmer ; and the farmer 
can determine the amount of water allowed to run upon 
a given field. Weirs are so constructed in relation to 
the opening" in the water gate in the ditch above that the 
water in the weir stands at a uniform height, that it mav 
flow out of the weir with a stream of uniform size and 
velocit}'. The standard or unit used in the measurement 
of flowing water is usualh^ the cubic foot per second of 
time. Thus a head gate so adjusted that it allows a 
cubic foot of water to pass through the weir each second 




r'is'iiie 1">1. 'Die meiisuring weir. 

is said to be adjusted to one cubic foot or one foot of 
flow per second. The head gate can be adjusted to 20 
cubic feet per second or to any other amount. And after 
adjusting the head gate to a given flow the superinten- 
dent of the canal can leave it one or more days with the 
assurance that the flow will be practically uniform for 
the full time required to give the farmer his allotted 
share of water. 

The measuring weir is simply a notch of a certain 
shape and size in a dam placed across a stream, so ar- 



^s6 



FAinr DICVRLOPMENT 



. ' . 

i I 



5ecr/o/. 

throush 

X-Y 



ranged that all the water flowing in the stream passes 
through the notch. The Cippoletti weir is a notch of a 
given form, and formulae have been constructed to apply 
to the depth of the water flowing out, by this means 
reducing the record of outflow to cubic feet per second. 
In Figure 151 is shown the weir in perspective; and in 
Figure 152 the form of notch, with measurements, is 
shown in detail. 

Since the level of the water at the point where it flo\vs 
out of the notch is somewhat depressed the measure- 
ment of the height 
of tlie water al)ove 
the knife edge, or 
bottom of the notch, 
is usually taken 
some feet from the 
notch. This may be 
arranged for liy hav- 
ing a peg driven in 
the ditch, the \o\) of 
Avhich is level with 
the knife edge, that 
by means of a pocket ruler the depth of the water may 
be measured ; or a graduated measure may be attached 
to the side of the weir box. as on the left side of the box- 
in Figure 151. 

The construction of the weir box 8 feet long. 4 feet 
wide and 3 feet deep, of 1 and 2-inch lumber, as shown 
in Figure 151, will cost $5 to $9. The floor is extended 
beyond the lower end to serve as a platform to prevent 
the falling water from washing out the ditch, and where 
needed the sides of the ditch may be further protected 
bv riprapping with rock. The weir is more accurate if 
the notch is chamfered with the sharp edge up stream. 
The weir box should be large and deep in proportion to 
the opening of the notch, that the stream may flow out 



Vic^ from Abot^ 



IRRIGATION 



257 



with perfect freedom and uniformity. The miner's inch 
is also used, especially in regions where miners have 
become accustomed to distributing water to be used in 
mining. The miner's inch is the amount of water which 




Avill flow through a square inch of opening in a second 
with the water held at a given height above the open- 
ing. The e.xact conditions for measurement are defined 



258 



FAK.M DEVELOP -M EN T 



by law in most of the western states, the conditions dif- 
fering in different states. 

In Figure 153 is shown the construction of a box for 
measuring the flow of water in miners' inches. Formulae 
are also used for the calculation of the amount of water 
flowing from weirs of a given construction with the water 
above standing at a given height. The United States 
Department of Agriculture, the State experiment sta- 
tions of Colorado, Wyoming and other states, have pub- 
lished bulletins treating of the measurement of irriga- 
tion water, which can be 
secured by those needing 
detailed information. 

As a unit of measur- 
ing water for irrigation 
])urposes. the miner's 
inch is not so generally 
used as the cubic foot 
In recording measure- 
water, the miner's inch. 




Figure l.J4. 
ditches. 



Plank .sfiaper fu: 



per second, or the acre foot 
ments of large quantities of 
although fairly accurate, is too small a unit. 

" The miner's inch is a unit of rate of the discharge of 
water expressed in terms of a standard orifice or outlet 
opening, usually 1 inch square, and a standard head."* In 
different states this head varies from 3 to 9 inches, but 
the head most commonly used is 6 inches. " Under a 
head of 6 inches and coefficient of 0.62, the discharge 
through a i-inch orifice would be 0.0244 cubic feet per 
second or 0.183 United States gallons (of 231 cubic 
inches). Usually the orifice is of fixed depth and ad- 
justable length." (See Figure 153.) The standard head 
of 6 inches ( in sketch the head is marked by block B, 6 
inches long and tacked on side of box), or whatever head 
it may l)e, is maintained by the gate C. This gate is 
placed securely in the ditch bank and raised or lowered 



* Trautwine's Engineer's Pocket Book. 



IRRIGATION 



259 



according' as more or less water is being drawn above 
the orifice. The amount of water let through under the 
constant head is regulated by the slide A shown in 
Figure 153. 

An acre inch means sufficient water to cover an acre 
of land an inch deep, and is 226,875 pounds, 28.359 
gallons, or 886 barrels of 32 gallons each. 

Constructing farm supply ditches and field ditches. — 
The location and construction of ditches to carry the 
water to the fields can be done with the reversible road 
machine, Fresno scraper, especially devised scrapers, the 




Figure l.'i-"i. Sliiiwing plank sciiipei- in use, plneing tlie embEUilinient all on one siiie 
of the ililch. 



road plow, the common stubl)le plow, the spade and 
other suitable implements. In many cases the earth 
from the ditch can be made to serve as an embankment 
in checking off nearly leyel fields or in terracing the hill- 
sides with slight fall so as to hold water in flooding. 

Locating field laterals. — In making shallow laterals 
through the farm, and often temporary ditches through 
the fields, it is necessary to curve about small eleva- 
tions so as to have only very slight grade to the 
ditches. 



26o 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



The biped level shown in Figure 158 is used in map- 
ping out field laterals around slight elevations. Laterals 
nearly level make it possible to take water out through 
small openings in their banks into the furrows between 

rows of cultivated 




^Sf^^^^v--^.^.^ ,^ VSx. ^ ,-.^\- .y 




plants or trees or upon 
grain or meadow fields. 
In constructing this 
homemade level it may 
. , be adjusted to read 

Figure ISfi. Supply aitch as made with reversible , , , 

road machine or with plow aiul scraper, as in Jgycl bv meaUS Of 3 
Figures 117 and 155. 

screw arrangement, or 
even a wedge, to raise or lower one end of the spirit level 
on the rail, and two stakes i6>^ feet apart, driven at first 
as nearly level as the eye can judge. By repeated trial, 
l)y reversing ends and driving down the higher stake, 
the tops of the stakes 
can be made the same 
height and the instru- 
ment adjusted to read 
level. The extension 

leSf at one end can then Figure 157. Dltth for farm laterals as plowed 

° nut by means of ordinary stubble plow or double 

Kp 1nv\'frprl arrnrdin cr moltlboard or finished by means of a V-shaped 

uc njv\cn.,u rti^(_(.n uiii^ sLiaper, as in Figure 163. 

to the grade to be given 

the ditch, as follows : One-eighth inch per rod giving a 
grade of 40 inches per mile; %, 80 inches; %, 120 
inches, or 10 feet, etc., as regulated by the figures on the 
adjustable leg. shown in h^igure t6o. 

To mark out a grade for a ditch leading from the sup- 
])\y ditch. ])lace the shorter, stationary, leg at the point of 
taking in the water; dig a place for the longer, adjustable. 
leg to a depth at which the bull) will read level. Moving 
the leveling device forward place the short leg in the last 
hole and dig another hole sufificientlv deep so that when 
the long leg is placed in it the bulb again reads level. By 
following a slope requiring holes of nearly equal depth 



IRRIGATION 261 

the ditch will be made the desired slant with the mini- 
muni amount of excavation and nearly uniform in depth. 
By means of this biped level the ditch can be carried 
along that course around a hill which will provide the 
desired gentle slope, with the ditch made at a uniform 
depth at all points, thus making it possible to open 
the ditch out with plows or other cheaply operated 
machines. 

Since it is necessary that field laterals shall be l)uilt 
with embankments so that the surface of the water in 
them shall rise high enough to How out on the land 
when the banks are cut, they must be shallow. On a 
hillside the earth should all be thrown out on the lower 
side, but on level or nearlv level land it should be 





-te/if' — 



Kit'iire I.'jS. Biped leveling tievice. .See adjustable leg in Figs. 159 and 160. 

thrown out on both sides. A double moldboard. or 
listing plow, as shown in Figure 162. will often make 
a suitable ditch with once or twice passing. ]\Iore often 
some such device as that shown in Figure 163 is neces- 
sary to follow the double moldboard plow throwing 
the earth out on either side, or the single moldboard 
plow used to throw two or more furrows either side, 
forming a dead furrow. W'here more depth and a larger 
ditch is required, the "A" can be used to further open out 
the first dead furrow and a second dead furrow can be 
thrown out along the same line, again shoving the 
loosened earth up on the banks by using the "A." 

The leveling device show'n in Figure 161 can be used in 
grading the bottoms of ditches. Often water flowing 
in the ditch can be used to secure the desired slant. 



262 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




Tf'iguie 1.39. Manner of using biped leveling devic 



Taking the water from ditches upon the land. — 

There are various devices for allowing' the water to lea^■e 
the field side ditch and run into the field, and to flood 
the land from the ditch located within the field. The 
normal level of running water in the ditch is raised by 
means of dams made in a variety of ways. In small 

ditches some spadefuls 
of earth serve to stop 
the flow of water, or a 
part of it, and a small 
notch cut through the 
embankment allows a 
stream of the desired 
size to flow into the field 
furrow or to be spread 
out to flood the land. A 
camas dam. fashioned 
like that shown in h'igure 164, and used as in Figure 
165, often serves the purpose. .\ few shovelfuls of earth 
hold the canvas in place. A dam made like 
that shown in h^igure 166 is often useful. 
Several dozen pipes made of half-inch 
boards, with openings 2x2 inches and 3 
feet long, with gate ; or for small amovints 
of water, four half laths nailed together, 
and inserted through the bank, with upper 
end 2 inches below the surface of the 
water and the outer end leading into the 
row- ditch or into the field, will often en- 
able a man to work more rapidly, and to 
distribute the water more equitably into 
furrows or upon the field of grain or grass. The 
character of the land has much to do with its needs 
for irrigation, and also with the method which must be 
employed in the use of the water. Thus, upon sandy or 
gravcllv lands more water is required than on lands 




Figure lt!0. Detail 
of adjustable leg of 
biped leveling device. 



IRRIGATION 



263 




^IL -ifi vjitoa^jfti^j^ 



.vj»lasow>,jii:^«,^Jl«*«^>«*lrt.*>dK-iraitt* '■****''**•' 



Figure 101. Grade level of light planed 
lioards, made accurately as shown. To estab- 
lish a 2 per cent grade, for example, bring 
the instrument to a level along the line of the 



which will better retain water received from rains or 
ditches. They become droughty in a moister climate 
earlier in the spring and sooner after rain. They must be 
irrigated more frequently than the lands better prepared 
to conserve moisture. It is difftcult on such lands to dis- 
tribute the water because of the great amount of waste 
by rapid percolation down 
below the area reached by 
the roots of plants and by 
seepage, and in many cases 
it is not practicable to use 
the water on this land, 
when the same water might 
be of greater use on lands 
better adapted to irrigation. 

f^Qnalc morlp r\i fliic L'inrl r\i drain by use of spirit level. F; mark center. 
v^dlldlh IlldUe 01 Llllh KllIU etl J, ,-,. f,,g,j ,.3igp ;!,(. ^,p^|,.;,i^, ^,1,1 through a 

cpnrH- Qnrl rri-a Arf:»11 1- mof*^ distance one-fiftieth of the length of the 

SdnUV ana graVeU}- mate- base llne. a C The plumb llne will cross 

. , , . - , 111 "'e board D E. in some line away from the 

rial are liable to leak large center, a b. Alark- this crossing, as X y. The 

. . same grade can then be found at any point hi 

amounts of water and this "^^ drain by leveling till plumb line crosses at 

a b. and then raising the updrain end till the 

i*; alc;n frnp nf latpralt; anri phnnb line crosses again at x y. A uniform 

IS disu H UC Ui IdLCIdlb dllU giade can thus be established. 

farm ditches. In some 

cases it is practicable to place clay in the bottom and 
along the sides of ditches made of open soil, or to allow 
them to become coated with sediment from muddy waters 
that the denser walls thus formed may 
enable the canal better to retain its 
water. ^^^ith some such materials, 
puddling, i. e., working the clay layer 
in the ditch when wet, will make it 
much more retentive. But the greater 
dififiiculty in sandy lands lies in getting 
the water to flow over the field and 
moisten the surface rather than to sink 
Figure 162. Listing away immediately and do little good. 

plow, useful in making -_ - ., ,, .. . 1 

shallow ditches on level Heavv clav soils, ou tlic Other hanci, 

land, as it tlirows the j j 

suies""^"'^^ °"^ °" '^""^ serve nicelv to carry the water forward 




-^04 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




OPENl 



in canals and field ditches without serious waste till it 
is evenly spread over the soil and allowed to percolate 
slowly downward. On these soils leaching is reduced to 
a minimum and most of the water supplied is conserved 

to be taken up by the 
roots of plants, or is lost 
by evaporation from the 
surface of the soil. These 
heavy soils require intel- 
ligent management to 
make them produce well, 
whether in a region of 
FiHure II-.:: nitciiiiiK "A." used for flnisii- licavy rainfall or under 

iug small liitei;il ilitclics. . . ' . rr^. ,. , , 

irrigation. 1 hey are lialjle 
to become baked and in ^■• 
poor mechanical condi- 
tion for producing good 
crops. 

Medium textured soils 
of mixed sand and cla\^ 
are best for irrigation, 
and more money can l)e 
profital)]}' invested in 
irrigating these soils 
than for the very light 
or the very heavy soils. 
The water can be spread 
over them without great 
loss: they will absorb 
and retain large quan- 
tities of water and will 
supply it gradually to 
the growing crops ; they 
may be cultivated and 
kept in good mechanical condition without large expense; 
and they arc usually ])ro(liictive. 




Figure 164. Canvas tlam. 



266 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



,1 r-^^ 

h 27. in\ 





Alkaline soils under irrigation niusl he handled with 
special care. In many drouthy regions ' the alkaline 
soils become still more alkaline when irrigated. This 
mav be due to the water used bringing, in solution. 

large ]3 o r t i o n s o f 
tlu' alkaline compounds 
wliich. upon evapora- 
tion, are left in the sur- 
face soil. In other cases 
it is due to the absorp- 
tion of soluble alkaline 
compounds from the 
subsoil by the w^ater. 
which upon rising to the surface and there evaporat- 
ing leaves the surface soil with an increased 
amount of these alkaline substances that are in- 
jurious to plants. In yet other cases seepage water 
from irrigated areas at higher levels absorb large quan- 
tities of alkaline compounds and seeping forward through 
porous underlayers, carry them to the surface on lower 
areas where the alkaline salts are deposited upon the 
evaporation of the water. In cases of this kind it some- 
times happens that irrigation water applied to one farm 



rigure mtJ. .Met.il ilani or tappoon. 





Figures 167 and 1G8. Small bo.xes to odiuluct water from farm ditch into furrows. 

will thus flow underneath to another farm and injuriously 
affect the neighbor's field. In many localities where 
alkaline soils are irrigated, the conditions must be con- 
stantly watched and special care taken not tt^ use more 
water than is necessarv. In this wav the fields which 



IRRIGATION 267 

might gradually become so alkaline as to be worthless 
may for a long time be kept suitable for the growth of 
crops. B}' using large quantities of water with natural 
or artificial underdrainage the excess of alkali may be 
slowly washed out of some soils. In some areas the 
entire engineering plan for irrigation needs to be ar- 
ranged with drainage systems so as best to avoid the 
accumulative injuries of alkali deposited by irrigation or 
seepage waters. 

Crops needing irrigation — All farm, garden and horti- 
cultural crops may profita1)ly be irrigated, where water 




II" tunnws annul; 



is inexpensive, at least in dry seasons. Under rare con- 
ditions, forest crops may be irrigated profitably. WHiere 
water is expensive and the rainfall is sufficient during 
most years, irrigation can be aiTorded only for such 
expensive crops as small fruits and vegetables. 

The time of the year in which to apply water to the 
various crops, is a matter of detail which can be decided 
only with a knowledge of the local conditions of any 
crops and of the methods of farm management of any 
given area. It is often necessary to apply water at or 
before planting time so that the seeds will germinate 



2(38 



FARM di:vi:l()Pment 



■ :■;: v ■ ISiil ::^. 
fi,;^*liiiiiiiii|liiiiiiiljil| I lllilii! 

'' ii |!i| lili! i ii? il 



and the plants i^et tlieir roots well developed td enable 
them to secure water from the subsoil as they mature. 
In cold regions winter grains should have sufficient 
water in autumn that they may develop strong roots 
which will endure the se\erc conditions of winter. Irri- 
gation in coid latitudes should not l)e so late as to 
encourage late maturit}' of trees, or in case of winter 
crops as to stimulate too late growth, causing the plants 
to be in poor condition for winter ; better have the ground 

fairly dry when freez- 
ing begins. In some 
soils the "heaving" of 
c 1 o ^' e r a n d wheat 
plants from the freez- 
ing of the soil is much 
worse if it is thor- 
oughly saturated with 
water than if com- 
paratively dry. Grasses, 
clo^•ers or other peren- 
nial or biennial crops 

fini-m\s. ' 

should have only suf- 
ficient water to enable them to go into the winter with 
strong, well-matured roots and crowns. In the spring, 
most cultivated plants need an ample supply of water 
with which to enable them to start out a vigorous 
growth. Grass crops are usually benefited by rather 
large supplies of water frequently applied. Winter and 
s])ring cereal grains respond to goodly supplies of water 
in their earlier growth, and as the period of ripening 
advances, they do quite as well if given only a medium 
supply of water. Such luxuriant growers as alfalfa will 
give an abundant harvest every few weeks if at the time 
of each mowing they are supplied with several inches of 
water — an inch meaning sufficient water to cover the 
sm-face an inch deep. Indian corn thrives best with a 



finm field lateral 



IRKIGATIOX 



269 







Wfm 






'I'l'l 'I'llI'lVl'l'l' 



5;5g=;;; 100 FT — 



medium amount of water aiiplicd ihroufj^lKJut its throw- 
ing season. Being' a southern plant adapted to warm, 
open soils, it does best if not watered too heavily at one 
time. This is particularl}- true on soils which are dense 
and cold. The experience of local growers and the 
instruction emanating from the agricultural colleges, 
state experiment stations and the l^iited States Depart- 
ment of .Agriculture should be of the greatest value to 
those who are studying how and when to apply water 
and the quantities best to use at each application. Ex- 
tensive studies 
of when to ir- 
rigate each 
crop, how to 
a p p 1 }" the 
water. how 
much to apply 
and the manner 
of after cul- 
tivation are 
being made by 
the United 
States Depart- 
ment of Agri- 
culture and by 
various state 
experiment sta- 
tions, and by a 
letter of inquiry 

the farmer or teacher can easily find how to secure 
literature giving these facts. 

\^ery often the farmer cannot entirely control the time 
of application of irrigation w^ater : the needs of other 
farmers, the priority of rights, the available supply of 
water in stream or reservoir, and his own convenience 
in looking after the application of the water in connec- 



Si 



1 ? 









mmmm 

iiiii 



if! 

i 
i 

Mi. 



Figure 171. Floodlnsr from flitches running down the slope. 



270 



FARAI DEVliLOP.MENT 



lion with carrying' <>n other work on the farm, all make 
the problem one which re(|uires constant thought and 
must be solved at the time with all the facts in mind. 
\Vhere it is known there will be a scarcity of water for 
irrigation in midsummer, as in some parts of Oregon and 
Arizona, the practice of filling the subsoil with water 
in winter and spring and making this serve as a reserve 
supply has been largely followed with great success. 

The time of day to apply water is relatively of greater 
moment Avhen ap]>lying small amounts, as with the water- 
ing pot or sprinkling 
hose, than where the 
farmer places several 
inches of water on a 
growing" crop. Water 
applied in the morning 
with the sprinkling pot 
penetrates only an inch 
or two into the soil 
and the hot. dry air of 
the sunshiny day will' 
evaporate a large por- 
tion of it. The same 
amount of water ap- 
plied in the evening has 

Figure 172. Ditch at tlie foot of an inigated field . . ^, . , 

which catches and carries off the seepage water a lOUgCr tUllC Ul WlllCh 
which otherwise would seep into tlie low area and upon '^^ _ 

evaporating would leave so much nf sails as tn make |-q penetrate the SOil lu 
it too alkaline for crops. 1 

response to the force 
of capillar}' attraction, and a less amount is left at the 
surface to be taken up by the atmosphere the following 
day. But where several inches of water are run upon 
land from ditches. less attention can be given to the time 
of day of its application, and. indeed, there is very little 
difiference since the soil is kept wet at the surface for some 
time while water is slowly percolating downward, under 
the influence of capillary attraction aided by gravitation. 



I 
o 

Q 
> 


1 FIELD OITCH _1 


FIELD OITCH 




•—^ = — 

FIELD DITCH 









IRRIGATION 271 

Irrigation and special cultivation. — Adjacenl tields 
with or without irrigation require different cultivation. 
That on which large amounts of water are applied should 
be plowed deeper, and subsoiling is sometimes necessary 
in hea\y soils, receiving much water. Irrigation tends 
to make the soil denser, less porous, colder and heavier 
to handle with tillage implements. In regions so drouthv 
that irrigation is necessary, lands not irrigated are quite 
as well managed if the}' are not plowed so deeply, and 
they are kept mellow with much less cultivation than is 
sometimes necessary in lands heavih^ watered. Among 
corn and other crops which may be cultivated between 
the rows, the surface should be broken up with the cul- 
tivator as soon after applying the water as the soil is 
sufficiently dry to be handled. This cultivation pre- 
vents the rise of the water to the surface, and conserves 
it for the use of crops and provides suitable mechanical 
conditions for the roots of the crops. Coarse and green 
manures, also artificial fertilizers, are especially profit- 
able where the land can be kept so uniformly moist that 
it is adapted to the best use of the available fertilitv. 

Subirrigation. — Various forms of subirrigation have 
been devised. A very simple form is one in which the 
water is supplied from below, as in greenhouse benches. 
Supplying water is also accomplished by means of 
tile drains laid one or more feet below the surface in the 
fields. Instead of these drains being used to run the 
water out of the soil, they serve to carry the water into 
the soil. This method has the advantage of not causing 
the surface to bake, as in surface irrigation, where dry, 
bright weather following the application of large quan- 
tities of water to a surface of heavy soils causes the sur- 
face soil to become baked and hard. This form of irriga- 
tion, however, is limited to gardens where valuable crops 
are grown, and where water is plentiful, or to green- 
houses where the water is under full control. 



CHAPTER XI 
ROADS AND BRIDGES 

Prior to 1850 all progressive countries were putting 
forth great efforts in making common roads. The ex- 
pense being very large, the work progressed slowly. 
These roads were needed for the arts of peace and in 
times of war. Military rulers often found it necessary 
to use their autocratic powers in constructing permanent 
roads in times of peace that they might have a means 
of more rapidly moving their armies and munitions dur- 
ing times of war. The older countries, having been long 
under these conditions, had succeeded in making sub- 
stantial roads along many of the principal lines of 
travel, as between towns, though little had been done 
for the greater proportion of the mileage of roads among 
and within farms. Prior to the above date the local 
communities of the United States, in some cases aided 
by the state and even by the nation, were bravely strug- 
gling to inaugurate a system of good roads. The coun- 
try was new, the distances great, making the total mile- 
age of wagon roads very large in proportion to the 
capital invested in farms, or even in proportion to the 
total capital of the entire country. It looked as though 
centuries would be required to make a network of good 
r(^ads throughout this vast country. 

Modern road building. — The people looked back to the 
times when the Romans built great military roads lead- 
ing from Rome toward different parts of the world. 
They observed with interest the natural and historical 
evidences of roadways among some of the ancient peo- 
ple of South America, notably the Incas of Peru. They 
studied with great interest contemporaneous road build- 



ROADS AXD 1;KII)GKS 2/3 

ing in Europe. They projected and partially completed 
a great national highway from the Atlantic seaboard 
westward, finishing it into Indiana. They built road- 
ways between large cities and planned many more. In 
addition to this, the farmers were making efforts to con- 
nect their farms with nearby towns and villages, with the 
great turnpikes, and with the markets on seaboard, on 
the larger lakes and on rivers and canals. In many 
instances, the only means of securing roads was for 
companies to construct them and charge toll, such com- 
panies often securing a bonus from villages and towns. 
During the first half of the nineteenth century, the im- 
provements of transportation were in three directions ; 
namely, wagon roads, canals and rivers. But about the 
middle of the century railway transportation began to 
assume great importance as a practicable feature, and it 
grew so rapidly that the development in other lines of 
transportation took minor places. Recently electric 
roads across the country have also entered the field, and 
again attention is drawn by the steel track from the 
wagon road and canal. But this is much more than 
counteracted by the new vehicles, the bicycle and the 
automobile, which have helped to awaken a new en- 
gineering era in highway building. The improvement 
of canals, rivers, harbors and water shipping generally 
has also taken on wonderful activity. Water transporta- 
tion on lakes and canals, especially, is proving important 
as a means of cheaply moving such bulky freight as coal, 
iron, grain, lumber and stone, and in many cases fur- 
nishes corrective competition to railway transportation. 
The intercontinental highway project was abandoned, 
as were also most of the plans for making superior wagon 
roads between cities and towns. In half a century 
several railroads have connected the Atlantic with the 
Pacific, and many railroads have connected the North 
and South, while innumerable branch lines and trolley 



2/4 



FAR M de\'i-:lop.ment 



roads ha\e gridironed all the states, connecting cities 
with cities, cities and lakes with the ocean, and 
even paralleling" canals and rivers. This kind of good 
roads has been in such great demand by the people that 
for the time being they were looked upon as the main 
solution of the road problem. Freight is more cheaply 
hauled on steel railways than on macadamized roadways. 
Freight rates have been marvelously reduced. People 
are able to travel many times faster than on wagon roads, 




Fiyiue 17:;. Tlie loiicl the pioneers traveled. 

and at the same time with far less expense, and with 
much greater comfort and even with greater safety, 
though the bicycle and the automobile are adding a new 
importance to the well-made highway. These steel high- 
ways have also revolutionized the distribution of mails 
and made possible the widespread circulation of news 
and greatly increased the entire activities of the whole 
people. The competition of railways has forced traffic 
on waterways into new activit}^ and into developing 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



^/.1 



speed. Especially has ocean . transportation received 
impetus from this new form of steam and electric high- 
ways. The world has become as a state and the state 
as a county in respect to distances or the time required 
to travel or to transport materials and spread the 
world's news. Wagon roads, on the other hand, have 
become only the terminal branches, the capillaries, to the 
great transportation or circulatory system of the country 
and the world. The people have been eager for railway 




Figure 174. The same roiiil as in Fit;. IJ:!. ijii'IkhuiI wiih inacadum .stiiue suifacins 
fur a civilization witli consolidated rural schools. 

accommodations. They have contentedly paid high 
freight and passenger charges, and railroading has been 
sufficiently profitable to attract capital so that railroads 
have been built into all sections of the country, often 
reaching out far beyond settlements, thus carrying 
civilization to the wilderness. Towns and counties have 
voted bonds to attract railways, the contest often run- 
ning high between towns desiring the location of the 
new lines. Thus the attention of the people has been 
directed toward securing the superb system of railway 



276 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

transportation now well advanced toward completion. 

Road building must be pushed forward. — W'hile the 
people ha^•e done much during- this half century of rail- 
way and shipbuilding to build up the country highways, 
there is need of very much greater energy applied in 
this direction. A new and mighty movement like that 
which built up a system of railways is needed and seems 
to be impending. The people are coming to the con- 
clusion that the farm home and the farm business must 
not remain walled in by miles of mud. The prosperity 
accompanying cheap railroad transportation and the con- 
sequent enlargement of our cities has given the farmers 
and the states much larger means with which to build 
wagon roads; and the people, now that they have the 
railroad transportation in a nearly satisfactory condi- 
tion, are showing their readiness to take up the making 
of wagon roads as a general movement and are pushing 
their construction forward, ^^'hile the building of rail- 
ways was a stupendous undertaking, the construction of 
high-class wagon roads, generally, over the vast stretches 
of roadway is even a more difficult prol)lem. In half a 
century our railways have been developed, but it is 
questionable if the permanent construction of our high- 
ways can be dealt with in so short a time. Many believe 
that only b}^ the general co-operation of the national 
government, the state governments, the local govern- 
ment and the farmers can this be brought about, with- 
out too serious loss in waiting for facilities the country 
cannot afiford to be without. 

Road building has been neglected. — During the period 
of railway building the making of good wagon roads 
was left almost entirely to the farming communities, 
until during the present century. Now state and national 
movements looking to general co-operation have been 
started, though not yet generally well organized. The 
cities, having grown very rapidly, have been occupied in 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 2/7 

building their own roads, the streets, and their task in 
that Hne is only well begun. The government and 
states, as well as counties and towns, have devoted large 
subsidies to railways, but, as a rule, the county has until 
recently been the largest unit to appropriate money for 
wagon roads. In many cases the whole burden has been 
left with the township or with the sub-district within the 
township. Railways have been pushed forward by im- 
mense capital aggregated in the hands of corporations 
or individuals, while the construction of wagon roads 
has been left to the votes of the people not well organ- 
ized into co-operative bodies. Capital invested in rail- 
ways has been profitable to the capitalists, and to the 
people as well. Money and labor invested in country 
roads have been valuable to the people, but in a way 
which has not been fully recognized by the persons 
doing the work or paying the taxes. The self-interest 
of the individual farmer has not been sufficient to induce 
him to do more than his minimum share toward making 
good roads. The wisdom and the leadership of our 
largest co-operative units, the state and national gov- 
ernments, have been called for by those directing the 
movement to secure much more attention to a large and 
systematic movement in highway improvement. 

Investment in good roads pays. — Cases where money 
has been invested in properly built country roads with- 
out the people feeling that the investment has paid, are 
rare. Our expenditure in country road building has been 
very much underdone. We could afford to expend an- 
nually two to four times as much in bettering our roads, 
and we can expend it in a far better manner if we will. 

Good roads help the farmer. — They increase the farm 
value of his marketable products. They enable him to 
market bulky products which he could not market with 
roads over which he could not easily transport them. They 
help him by reducing the cost at the farm of purchased 



278 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

products. Better roadways in the neighborhood leading 
to a village, to the church and to the school, increase 
the value of the land. 

Good roads make life more pleasant on the farm. The 
business of farming can be done in a more agreeable 
and less cramped way if there is an easy way of com- 
munication with others. Intellectually, life is more 
pleasant, interesting and elevating if the means of com- 
munication with neighbors and with the outside world 
are made better ; if free transportation of pupils is pro- 
vided, and if mail can be received daily. Socially, farm 
life is improved b\' good roads since the}^ lessen the 
isolation and make visiting between families more fre- 
quent; they result in more frccpient reciprocal visits 
with friends in village or city, and aid in building up 
rural social organization. Churches and co-operative 
business organizations can be more highly developed, 
both in rural communities and in Aillages. Rural de- 
livery of mail is a twentieth-century improvement, the 
value of which can hardly be compared to any other 
public service in which the farmers and the nation are 
interested, and it is made more practicable by improved 
roads. 

Good roads and country life education. — The most im- 
portant agricultural problem, and the most important 
educational problem, now up for solution is the peda- 
gogical organization of the splendid practical and scien- 
tific body of knowledge concerning farming and home 
making being accumulated by experiment stations and 
departments of agriculture, and the development of 
schools adapted to carrying this knowledge to all farm 
youth. Here, as in cit\' life education, three grades of 
schools are being organized — rural schools, agricultural 
high schools and agricultural colleges — parallel to the 
city primary schools, city high schools and the colleges 
of the universitv. The most important step in this work 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 2/0 

is the redistricting" and consolidating of the rnral schools 
in all regions where good farming lands warrant this 
increased expense for school facilities. Hauling rural 
pupils to the consolidated rural school out in the open 
country and to the village and town school is the most 
expensive item of this necessary system, and to make it 
practical and not too expensive the roads must be pass- 
able at all times. 

Good roads help cities and villages. — By making farm- 
ing more prosperous, and rural life richer, the resources 
of villages and cities are increased. The city and coun- 
try are brought into closer communication. The city 
needs an easier way of communicating with the coun- 
try, as well as the country with the city. With good 
roads the markets of the city are more regularly sup- 
plied with foods and other farm products. Business is 
generally accelerated in the city by being placed in more 
easy communication with the country. A more active 
market is provided for manufactured and imported 
products. Professional and expert services are in greater 
demand because the farmers can better reach the cit}', 
and physicians, artisans and others can more easily serve 
the country. In villages, especially, lousiness, schools, 
churches, societies, etc., are better built up since the 
number of people who can easily reach these smaller 
centers of population is widened by better roadways. 
Good country roads make better carriage, bicycle and 
automobile ways for cit}- people as well as for country 
people to use and enjoy. 

Good roads help transportation companies. — If we 
could now ha\e the ])etlcred roads which the next half 
century will see, we would add greatly to the profits 
of railway and other transportation companies. Prod- 
ucts hauled to the railway, canal or river stations would 
be greatly increased. Farmers could market more of 
those bulky products which bring more freight receipts. 



28o FARM DEVELOPMENT 

Besides, the}' could purchase products of heavier bulk. 
By enabling" farmers and others to get to and from the 
cities more easily passenger traffic would be increased. 
With good roads there would be no muddy time in 
spring or fall when crops could not be marketed, thus 
congesting traffic at other seasons of the year, and less 
rolling stock would be needed on railroads for emergen- 
cies. As we increase the ability of the farmer to go 
about among his neighbors and to distant towns and 
cities, co-operation among farmers and between farmers 
and corporations becomes more practical and there is 
less opportunity for friction ; there is a closer fellowship 
everywhere. 

Road legislation. — In some respects the making of 
laws relating to public highways in most American 
states is decidedly behind the times. Some of the gen- 
eral principles which must be recognized in a public 
movement for building roads are not found in the laws 
of most of the states. As a rule, there is no adequate 
provision contemplated in our laws for the surveying 
and making of general plans for systems of roads nor 
detailed engineering plans for their construction. 
Neither do the laws sufficiently arrange for superin- 
tending the construction and maintenance of roadways. 
The work is too often left to men with very short tenure 
of office not trained in that phase of engineering which 
has to do with planning, building or maintaining these 
important arteries of commerce. 

Laws should provide more liberally for educating men 
in road making and for seeking the best methods of 
building roads. A detailed knowledge is needed of 
wdiere good road material is to be found, how secured 
and how used. Too little is known of the use of different 
kinds of gravel, stones or other materials useful in road 
surfacing, and even the nomenclature of materials useful 
in road surfaces should be better developed. Men edu- 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 28 1 

catecl in road improvement and maintenance arc the 
public's advisers and they should be made responsible 
for conservative leadership in inaugurating movements 
for raising the funds and arranging for the construction 
of improved roadways. 

Most encouraging progress is, however, being made. 
A number of states have highway commissions or 
bureaus, and the office of public roads of the United 
States Department of Agriculture is devoted to the de- 
velopment of the science of road work and to giving 
advice and assistance to road bureaus, to road officers 
and to private parties in the various states. A class of 
men trained in road building is being developed, and 
annually there is progress in laws relating to the im- 
provement of roads. The amount of money being invested 
in road construction and road maintenance is being in- 
creased, though not so rapidly as would be profitable. 

Highway funds. — The procuring of funds for the large 
expense which must necessarily be incurred in the gen- 
eral improvement of our highways is a serious matter. 
Heretofore in most states the farmers have paid almost 
the entire expense. This has become so nearly the cus- 
tom that it has seemed revolutionary to talk of other 
methods. It has been recognized that the county should 
pay for large bridges and for special improvements, as 
macadamizing the principal roadways. It is only re- 
cently that public opinion has turned to the states and 
even to the nation as sources of additional funds for con- 
structing roads, and especially funds for studying out 
the best plans for making highways, for finding the best 
materials for road surfaces, for making the necessary 
surveys preparatory to road building and for superin- 
tending the work of constructing roads. 

If the state furnishes part of the means with which 
to improve the roads, she gains the right to assist in 
superintending the work. Farmers have been loath to 



202 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

give up this right. Some have feared that giving up 
this right would take away from them the opportunity to 
earn wages in road construction, and would entail upon 
them larger expense annually, in road improvements. 
Jjut since the benefits will be so very much greater than 
the cost, there seems no general reason for doubt but 
that a fairly general plan of state aid will, in the end, 
greatly benefit the farmers and also the state at large. 
Even the plan for national aid in road building has gained 
in popularity during the first decade of the century. 

The method of taxation. — ^^llatever money the state 
provides to aid a localit}^ in building a road may prop- 
erly come from general state funds. It is quite proper, 
however, for the state to create special funds for high- 
wa}^ improvement. So. in some states, the constitution 
devotes to its road and bridge fund such funds as accrue 
from interest on certain investments, as from lands given 
by the national government to the state for internal im- 
provements. Likewise some assert that the state might 
properly devote the proceeds of special inheritance taxes 
or taxes on the income of large transportation, and other 
corporations. 

In most states the county draws upon its current ex- 
pense fund, or places upon its tax levies a special tax for 
the construction of bridges and roads to aid townships 
or localities. In many states the township levies a 
special property tax, also in some cases a personal tax 
called a poll tax is levied, to be used in the construc- 
tion of roads. Formerly the general plan prevailed of 
giving each man the ])rivilege of paying his poll tax in 
cash or of working its equivalent out on the roads. 
I'nder a more l)usinesslike arrangement of road con- 
struction and maintenance, it seems Avise to have all 
taxes paid in money, that the work may be in the hands 
of superintendents and laborers, who, with experience, 
become expert in building and caring for roads. 



ROADS AND liRIDOES 283 

Pike district, as here used, means the legal co-opera- 
tive organization of the people owning land along or 
near to the leading road which they desire to have mate- 
rially improved. Laws can be framed to facilitate the 
organization of such districts in a way that the first 
cost of the improvements to be borne locally can be 
equally distributed over the adjacent and nearby lands 
which will be greatly benefited by the improved road. 
The law should also contemplate drawing upon county 
funds and even state funds to aid communities that 
are thus situated, and thus provide a co-operative 
organization — the landowners, the county and the 
state — which will pay the larger portion of the ex- 
pense of making a superior road. One of the greatest 
advantages of a state highway fund is that the state 
government can use it to induce farmers and even cities 
and villages to unite in co-operative associations to im- 
prove the roads. One of the greatest functions of gov- 
ernment is to lead its communities to enter upon larger 
needed enterprises than they alone would undertake. 
The opportunity to secure state funds will induce the 
people of a locality to forget their own differences and 
unite for the larger objects. 

Cities sometimes aid. — In the improvement of roads, 
state laws should also contemplate requiring aid from 
cities. In many cases cities pay for part of the roads radi- 
ating from their centers, as they are thus placed in better 
communication with the farm communities; and without 
laws looking to co-operation between city and country, 
the city must often do without good roads leading to 
the surrounding country. Private funds are often used 
for making roads. It would be quite proper for the laws 
to recognize parties who will invest money in roads by 
abating part of their road taxes for a series of years in 
return for their advancing means with which to build a 
road in Avhich they are especially interested, but by 



284 FAR^r DEVELOPMENT 

which the public is also benefited. Care must be taken, 
in framing this kind of legislation, to prevent abuses, 
but it would seem quite right to enable a board of county 
commissioners to make a contract with a landowner 
under which he might make a much-needed road, with 
the understanding that he should be for some specified 
time exempted from a large portion of his road taxes. 
Requiring the county board to secure the consent of the 
state highway officers to legalize such contracts with pri- 
vate parties would be an ample safeguard. 

Co-operation in road making should be encouraged by 
the state. — Thus the state, the county, the township, the 
pike district and the individual should all be brought 
into co-operation. This principle has not been fully 
recognized by our law makers. A state highway bureau, 
with even a small amount of money at its command, 
and with libert}' to use this money to help those who are 
ready to help themselves — who are anxious to make 
roads under the best possible plans — does a great deal of 
good in bringing about co-operation and in developing 
a far better system of highways. Such a bureau in- 
duces counties to co-operate better in building intercity 
railways. It induces the organization of co-operative 
pike districts, and aids in finding the best materials for 
making roads and devising the best plans for construc- 
tion and maintenance. It advises where to get the best 
road machinery and aids in selecting road engineers, 
county engineers and superintendents of road main- 
tenance, capable and honest, who will serve the public 
well. The ofifice of public roads of the United States 
Department of Agriculture likewise is of much service, 
since, with a small fund, it aids in promoting the co- 
operative construction of the roadways. 

Speaking broadly, there are in the United States 
2,225,000 miles of public highways. On these there is spent 
annually approximately $90,000,000, or $1 per capita for 



ROADS AND llRIDGES 285 

the whole people, or $3 per capita for those classes con- 
cerned directly with ag-riculture. Of this sum the 
larger part is used for maintenance and the smaller part 
for construction. The cost of construction averages 
approximately $500 per mile for earth roads, $1,500 for 
gravel and sand-clay roads and $6,000 for stone, macadam 
roads. 

For the purposes of estimating the cost of further 
construction, it may be assumed that there are yet to 
be constructed 10 per cent of the entire mileage, or 
225,000 miles of macadam ; 30 per cent, or 675,000 of 
gravel and sand-clay roads; and 40 per cent, or 1,000,000 
of earth roads. Using the above figures, the total cost 
of macadam roads will be $1,350,000,000; of gravel 
roads, $1,012,500,000, and of earth roads, $500,000,000, or 
a total of $2,862,500,000. To this may be added an 
estimate of $187,500,000 for the construction of bridges 
and permanent culverts, making a total of $3,000,000,000. 
By making the expenditure for construction alone 
$100,000,000 annually, this construction work could 
be completed in 30 years. The more highly developed 
road surfaces will cause an increase in the cost of 
maintenance also, but the increase in population will, 
on the other hand, help to keep down the cost per capita. 
The increased value of farm lands which will result from 
the construction of a system of good roads will alone 
more than justify the expense. 

Improved plans for farming; better farm machinery, 
plants and animals ; improved railway and water trans- 
portation, rural mail delivery, rural telephones and the 
greater wealth-producing non-agricultural industries, are 
all so enormously increasing the country's wealth that 
there is coming an abundance to draw upon for the needed 
sums to invest in permanent roadways in rural as well 
as in urban communities. If the rural communities can- 
not with sufficient rapidity organize and improve their 



2.% FAK.\r l)i:VELOP.MENT 

roads, tlic slate and national ,y(nernnienls, in the interest 
of the whole people, should aid in organizing them. By- 
providing a portion of the money, the larger co-operative 
unit can purchase the right of the local community to 
aid in administering road affairs in which the interest 
of the state and national governments is as clearly de- 
fined, though not to the same extent, as the locality. 

SURVEYING AND MECHANICAL APPLIANCES 

The road engineer requires a special education in civil 
engineering, in sur-s-eying. in devising practical plans and 
in superintending construction work. Those responsible 
for the construction of public highways should be more 
enterprising in employing men trained in planning and 
superintending construction. The annual loss from 
plans poorly made is much more than sufficient to pay a 
sufficient number of highway engineers to place our road 
building on a scientific basis. 

The preliminary survey. — Too many of our highways 
liax'c been located hv persons who were interested in 
roads accommodating a particular point or person rather 
than by county or state officials who take into consider- 
ation the greatest benefit to the largest number of people 
at present and in future. The first thing to be con- 
sidered in locating the line of the road is the preliminary 
survey, which decides in a broad Avay the general location 
of the road, and locates bridges and culverts and deter- 
mines the cost as compared with other proposed lines. 
Since the hauling of surfacing materials is often a very 
expensive operation, consideration should be given to 
the proximity of materials which will make a good sur- 
face for the future finished road. 

Locating pioneer roads. — In hilly lands the pioneers 
locate their roadways along the lines of easiest travel, 
or along the lines where it requires the least work to 



ROADS AND I'.RIDGKS 287 

make an opening. The road is often made to go around 
some wet place or to escape a sharp hill. Soon, how- 
ever, the settlement of the lands and farms results in 
the road being placed along the straight lines around 
the " sections." as surveyed a mile square by the na- 
tional government, or along subdivision lines of the 
section. Thus it has occurred that the roads of the 
prairie states follow straight lines, requiring the travel 
to be around square corners, making longer distances, 
though on the other hand making the fields of the 
farmers rectangular and more easily tilled. 

In hilly countries it is especially advantageous to have 
the county board, in pioneer times, select the routes so 
as to make the grades fairly eas}^ And it is often neces- 
sary, in later years, for the county to straighten the lines 
at considerable expense. The distance around a hill is 
often no greater than the distance over it. just as the 
distance is no greater to follow the bail from one side 
of a pail to the other, whether it is erect or lies flat on 
the top of the pail. Ofttimes the heavy grades of a hill can 
be saved by going little or no further, around or near 
the foot of the hill. It is not so important in hilly coun- 
tries to have square fields ; in fact, not so practical, as in 
a gently undulating or level country. Some attention 
should be given to the ease of making the pioneer road 
and it is sometimes advisable to make a temporary loca- 
tion, but the general plan should provide for its being 
straightened out, as means can be afiforded. The gen- 
eral plan should be recorded that it may sometime be 
followed out. The relocation of roads should be done 
with great care, since the construction of permanent 
roadways often requires the expenditure of large sums 
of money. 

In swampy countries the roadway should often be 
located where the combined advantages of having a road 
and draining the swamp will best serve the luiited inter- 



288 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

ests of the traveling public and those interested in ccv;;- 
bining the draining of the adjoining swampy fields witli 
the drainage of the roadway. The road line should be 
located where the moving of materials needed to cover 
the roadway in the swampy land will not be too expen- 
sive. In the beginning only a few general roads should 
be made at rather wide intervals across large swampy 
areas, the cross roads being constructed later on. 

Survey for construction. — Once the line of road is deter- 
mined, and in a general way the depth of the cuts and fills 
decided upon, there should be a survey for construc- 
tion. Specifications should be made, even if only cheaply 
surveyed in cases of light grades, for the depths to 
excavate each cut and to fill each grade. Likewise, 
specifications should be made for the kinds of material 
to use in constructing the surface, the depths to place 
each layer of surfacing material, and the manner of lay- 
ing, mixing and packing these layers. Specifications 
should be made for bridges and culverts. In determiur 
ing upon the grade many things must be taken into 
consideration. The rule followed by some railroad 
engineers that a certain grade, say 20 feet to the mile 
throughout the entire line, shall not be exceeded, is not 
quite so important in highway engineering as in railroad 
construction. Horses drawing a load, or men propelling 
a bicycle, have stored up energy, which by an extra 
efifort may be utilized in larger amounts for a short time. 
This enables the horse or bicyclist to mount unusually 
steep grades if they are not too long. As automobiles 
come into general use for carriage and freight purposes, 
and rural electric railways are used, there is greater need 
of avoiding steep grades in our wagon roads even for 
short distances. A copy of the profile and of the notes 
showing the depths at the cross-section stakes should 
be furnished to the contractor or superintendent of con- 
struction. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 289 

In cases where much grading is necessary the road- 
way should be surveyed and stakes placed at either 
side of the proposed road. On stakes at the sides of the 
roadway are placed figures showing how deep to cut or 
how deep to fill at each successive point along the line 
of the road. Diagrams should also be made showing the 
width of the road bed and the slope of the banks in cuts 
and in fills. Frequently the width for the road can be 
determined only with a knowledge of several factors ; 
the importance of the road and the amount it is used, the 
means available for its construction, the kind of surfac- 
ing material to be applied, and the volume of water to 
be carried by the ditches beside the road. The slant 
to be given the banks in cuts, or slope on the sides of 
the grades in fills, will be determined by the character 
of the material of the banks. Solid rock may be left 
vertical, loose sand or running clays must have a very 
low slant. Ordinary mixed earth of sand and clay re- 
quires a slant of 30 to 45 degrees according to its ability 
to stand. Sometimes fertile soil which will retain 
moisture may be placed on the surfaces of embank- 
ments and planted to grasses, which will prevent them 
from being washed down by rains. 

Specifications for the surface. — While hauling the heavy 
material for surfacing has become a comparatively simple 
matter, few road contractors or superintendents under- 
stand how to secure the best material for the surface or 
how to place it on the roadway in the best manner. There 
is greater need of engineering knowledge and experience 
at this point than at any other. The available materials 
are so varied in character and may be combined in so 
many ways that the plans for making the earth road, the 
gravel surface, or even the macadam roadway, cannot 
usually be made in a theoretical or offhand way. In 
some cases, the most economical and best way for man- 
aging the construction of the road surface can be deter- 



290 FAK.M DEVELOP AllixN'T 

mined only after the grade has been nearly finished. 
Materials uncovered while excavating' cuts, or materials 
found in outside areas from which earth is secured in 
constructing the grade, are often best to use alone or in 
combination with materials brought from outside in 
making up the road surface. 

In some instances it is best to give the contractor, and 
the superintendent (representing the public) who daily 
inspects the work, some latitude, stating the specifica- 
tions for the construction of a road surface of a given 
((uality and character in general, yet binding, terms. 

In giving the contract for the formation of the grade 
or substructure, it can be specified that the best mate- 
rials for subsurfacing found within the cuts be spread 
on top of the substructure as a foundation upon which 
the surfacing materials are to be laid. Thus, by using 
gravel from cuts, such a well-drained solid top can be 
l)ut on the substructure that the superstructure need 
not be made so thick nor so expensive as if such poor 
materials as soft clay were left at the top. or if the upper 
part of the substructure were made uj) of alternating 
])atches of soft cla}'. coarse gravel, sand, or sand and 
clay mixed, gi\ing a foundation variable in rigidity and 
uneven in its capacity for removing water from the super- 
structure or for allowing surface water to percolate 
through it. 

Where the surface is to be made of macadam, brick 
or other hard substance, and something is known of the 
availability of sand or gravel desired as foundation under 
these surfacing materials, the specifications are easily 
written. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



291 



NOTES BY MAURICE O. ELDRIDGE 



COST DATA 



It IS impossible to fix a jjrice at which certain types of roads can 
be built. A macadam road which may be constructed in one 
j>art of the country for three thousand dollars per mile cannot 
be duplicated in another part of the country for less than ten 
thousand dollars per mile. The cost of roads varies with cost 
of labor, teams and materials, the distance the materials are 
hauled, amount of grading done, etc. On some roads the grading 
will cost as much as all of the other items entering into the cost 
ot the road, while on another road of the same type there may 
be no rough grading at all. The cost of labor on roads varies 
all the way from seventy-five cents to two dollars per day in the dif- 
ferent parts of the country. In many places materials can be 
secured gratis, but in others they have to be paid for by the 
ton or cubic yard. Suitable materials are frequently found imme- 
diately adiacent to the road to be made, but in many instances, 
materials have to be brought long distances by rail or boat. 

The rates charged for hauling road materials by the railroads in 
some of the middle western states are given below. The rate given 
for Iowa is the same as that charged for soft or slack coal, which 
is the lowest rate given for anv material. 



Railroad Rates on Road Materials 
Rate per 2000 pounds 



Miles 


Missouri 


Illinois 


Iowa 


So. Dak. 


Minn. 


25 


$1.00 


$0.80 


$0.37 


$0.90 


$0.80 


50 


1.20 


.98 2-10 


.52 


1.20 


1.20 


75 


1.40 


1.13 4-10 


.64 


1.40 


1.40 


100 


1.60 


1.26 8-10 


.74 


1.60 


1.60 


200 


2.40 


1.69 2-10 


1.04 


2.50 


2.40 


300 


3.00 


1.99 


1.24 


3.10 


3.00 



The cost of hauling rock from the crusher or the railroad station 
to the road, measured one way, is u.s^ally about twenty-five cents 
per cubic yard ])er mile. If the rock is being hatiled from bins 
where the stone is loaded into wagons automatically, about seven 
or eight cents per cubic yard should be added to the total cost of 
hauling for loading and imloading, lost time, etc. If the rock is 
hauled from the railroad station, about fifteen cents per cubic 
yard should be added for loading and unloading, lost time, etc. 

A wide difference in the cost of roads is shown by the following 
table, which gives the total cost of roads constructed under the 
direction of the Office of Public Roads of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture in several different states during the year 
1904-05. 



292 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



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KOAUS iVA'D UKIDGES 293 

The greatest difference in the cost per mile of the roads of similar 
construction is due to the width, one of the roads being 24, another 
32, aad one, piactically a street, 70 feet in width. On account 
of the fact that no charge was made for supervision, or for ma- 
chinery, the cost ol these roads was probably from fifteen to twenty- 
five per cent lowei than would be the case in ordinary practice. 

UNIT COST OF OCjECT-LESSON MACADAM ROAD, SPRINGFIELD, MO. 

The unit cost of tlie road built under the direction of the Office 
of Public Roads at Springfield, Missouri, during the year 1904, 
is given in the following table, and will serve as a type of what 
can be done in many localities, as the material of which this road 
was constructed is found in many parts of that region : 

Total Cost 

cost per 

^ , . per cubic 

Crushing: day yard 

Average daily output 75 cu. yds. 

4 men loading wheelb-arrows and feeding 

crusher, at $1.50 per day $6.00 .08 

5 men operating wheelbarrows at $1.00 per day 5 .00 .066 

1 crusher attendant 1 . 50 .02 

Water wagon i time, at $3.00 per day 1 . 50 .02 

Fuel oil, etc., for engine 2.50 .033 

Total $16.50 .219 

Hauling: 

Distance of 2 miles. 

This was done by contract at a cost of 40 cents .40 

Preparing subgrade : 

A regular set of men and teams was employed 
in this work. The charge is therefore 
made as for crushing and spreading, as 
they prepared the subgrade for about 75 
cubic yards each day. 

2 teams, at $3.00 per day $6.00 .08 

4 men, at $1 . 50 per day 6 . 00 .08 

Total $12.00 .16 

spreading stone and binder: 

6 spreaders at $1.50 per day $9.00 .12 

1 team at $3.00 per day hauling gravel for 

binder 3 . 00 .04 



Total $12.00 .16 



294 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

Rolling and Sprinkling: 

Fuel oil, etc 2.50 

Night watchman 1 . 50 

Team \ of the time, at $3.00 per day 75 

Total $4.75 .063 

Summary : 

Crushing, average daily output 7 5 cu. yds $16.50 .219 

Preparing subgrade 12.00 .16 

Hauling stone .40 

Spreading stone and binder 12 .00 . 16 

Rolling and sprinkling 4. 75 .063 

Total $45.25 1.002 

As loose material 9 inches in depth were used, the cost per 
square yard was therefore about 25 cents. The total amount of 
material used in the road was 672 cubic yards, and the total cost 
was $780.00. It will be noticed that 672 cubic yards at $1.00 
per cubic yard would amount to $672.00, leaving a little more than 
$100 for culvert pipe and construction of culverts, repairs to tools 
and machinery and for incidentals. The cost of this work was 
probably 15 per cent, lower than would be the case in ordinary 
practice, as the machinery, expert operators and superintendence 
were furnished free by the Government. 

It will be noticed that no charge was made for piling material 
at the crusher. This was on account of the fact that the material 
was furnished free already piled; for, in order to cultivate their 
crops, the farmers had fotmd it necessary thus to dispose of the 
rock found in the fields. This fact, however, could not have 
materially affected the cost of the road, as similar material could 
have been secured nearer the work, but as it would have been 
necessary to pick up the rock from the fields, the cost of picking, 
piling and hauling would have amounted to about the same. 

Taking the culverts and incidentals into consideration, this road 
cost about 35 cents per square yard, or at the rate of $3,285 per 
mile for a 16-foot road, which is considered a very reasonable cost 
for first-class work. It would be safe to say, therefore, that roads 
built imder practically the same conditions even after adding the 
necessary cost of expert supervision, interest and depreciation on 
plant, can be constructed for about 38 to 40 cents per square yard, 
or at the rate of $3,750 per mile for 16-foot roadway. 

The cost of the road at Springfield, Mo., should not be accepted 
as a standard for the whole country, for the following reasons: 
First: Ordinarily there would be a charge for quarrying stone of 
from 15 to 25 cents per cubic yard; the average for the whole 
country would probably be 20 cents per cubic yard. This item 
alone would increase the cost given above 5 cents per square yard. 
Second: The cost of rough grading, which varies between wide 



KO.VDS AND BRIDGES 295 

limits in different parts of the country, would also have to be 
added. Third: The cost of hauling materials would in many- 
cases be from 5 to 8 cents more per cubic yard than was chargea 
at Springfield, and the length of haul might be greater or less. 
Fourth: If material is brought in by rail or boat the cost of 
transportation per cubic yard should be added. Fifth: The cost 
of spreading stone, given above, was much higher than it should 
be on account of the fact that hand labor was employed. For 
spreading screenings by hand the cost should be about 16 cents 
per cubic yard, as given; but stone and gravel can be spread with 
automatic carts or road graders, and leveled by hand for from 2 to 
5 cents per cubic yard. Sixth: Cost of rolling, given above, is low 
on account of the fact that the material was very readily com- 
pacted. The cost for rolling stone varies in different places from 
15 to 30 cents per cubic yard, averaging about 25 cents, which is 
equivalent to 6{ cents per square yard for a 9-inch road. 



COST OF SAND CLAY ROADS 

It is, of course, impossible to state definitely the cost of this 
form of construction, as it will be found to vary with the price of 
labor, the length of haul, the width of roadway and depth of 
material. If we assume, however, that the clay can be procured 
within a mile of the sandy roadway which is to be improved, and 
that the cost of labor is about $1 and teams $3 per day, the cost 
of constructing a twelve-foot sand-clay roadway on a sand founda- 
tion, covered with clay to an average depth of 6 inches, would be 
approximately as follows; 

Cost per 
mile 

Crowning and shaping road with road machine, estimated 
on basis of two teams for one day at $3, and one 
operator at $1.50 $7.50 

Hauling clay, 1760 cubic yards, at 25 cents 440.00 

Spreading clay with road machine, estimated on basis for 
three days, two teams at $3 per day, and operator 
at $1.50 per day 22.50 

Shoveling sand on clay, estimated on basis of i cent per 

square yard 35.20 

Plowing, estimated on basis of four days for one tea:n 

at $3 per day 1 2 . 00 

Harrowing, estimated on basis of two days for one team 

at $3 6.00 

Shaping and dressing with road machine, estimated on 
basis of two days, two teams, at $3, and expert 
operator at $1.50 per day 15 .00 

Rolling, estimated at \ cent per square yard 35 . 20 

Total $573.40 



296 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

The estimated cost per square yard, therefore, when computed 
on the basis of this table, would be about 8 cents, or at the rate 
of $573.40 per mile. 

The cost of building a sand-clay road on a clay foundation 
would not vary much from the figures given above. The latter 
form of construction would probably be slightly cheaper by reason 
of the fact that sand can be more economically handled than clay. 

The cost of sand-clay construction in the south has been found 
to vary from $200 to $1,200 per mile, in most cases running from 
$300 to $800. A sand-clay road constructed under the direction 
of the Office of Public Roads, at Gainesville, Fla., 1 mile in length, 
14 feet wide, and having a 9-inch sand-clay surface, cost $881.25 
per mile, or 10 cents per square yard. Another sand-clay road, 
imilt under the direction of the Office at Tallahassee, Fla., 16 feet 
wide and surfaced with about seven inches of sand-clay mixture, 
cost $470 per mile, or about 5 cents per square yard. In case 
changes of grade have to be made with consequent cuts and fills, 
the cost would be proportionately greater than the figures given 
above. 



COST OF GRADING 

In making plans and specifications for a road, the cost ot re- 
location or the cost of grading the old road will have to be con- 
sidered. The amount of earth to be moved should be determined 
by the engineer in charge and the approximate cost per square 
yard ascertained on a basis of length of haul, kind of material 
to be moved and cost of loading and unloading. 

If the drag or slush scraper is to be used (average capacity | 
cubic yard) the average cost of moving earth, according to Gil- 
lette, would be about 4i cents per cubic yard per 100 feet. To 
this cost Gillette adds 6 2 cents per cubic yard for loading and 
unloading, plowing, etc. According to this estimate the cost for 
moving earth, say 300 feet with drag scrapers, would be about 
20 cents per cubic yard. 

Where No. 2 wheel scrapers are to be used (capacity about \ of 
a cubic yard), the cost, according to Gillette, would be about 
2\ cents per cubic yard per 100 feet. To this cost he adds 6h 
cents per cubic yard for loading and unloading, plowing, etc., 
For moving earth 300 feet with No. 2 wheel scrapers, the cost 
would, therefore be about 13 cents per cubic yard. 

The cost of moving earth by wagon when the average load is 
1 cubic yard, is given by Gillette, as \ cent per cubic yard per 
100 feet, wages of man and team being estimated on the basis 
of 35 cents per hour. To this he adds a fixed charge of 13 cents 
per cubic yard for loading, and 5 cents per cubic yard for plowing. 
The cost for moving earth on this basis, by wagons, would be \9l 
cents per cvibic yard for 300 feet; or 28 cents per cubic yard per 
mile. 



KOAOS AND i;i.;ih(;i:.s 



297 



COST OF ROADS OF VARIOUS WIDTHS 

The cost of roads varies not only with the depth of material used, 
but also with the width. The following note of explanation and 
tables regarding the number of square yards in a mile of road of 
different widths and the cost of roads of different widths at a 
given price per square yard are quoted from the Report of the 
Commissioner of Public Roads of New Jersey: 

"Any variations from the prices given can be quickly ascer- 
tained by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing for a less 
or greater width. For example, a road 8 feet wide has 4,693 J 
square yards in 1 mile. To obtain the number of square j^ards 
in a road having a width of 9 feet, add ^ to the foregoing figures, 
and in one having a width of 7 feet, subtract i ; in one of twice the 
width given in the table multiply by 2." 

Square yards in one mile of road. 
8 feet in width 4,693 1-3 sq. yds. 



10 






5,866 2-3 


12 






7,040 


14 






8,213 1-3 
9,386 2-3 


16 






18 






10,560 


Number of 


square yards and cost [^er mile for d 


iffcrciit zvidths and 




various prices per 


square yard. 




Width in 


Number 


Cost per 


Cost per 


feet 


sq. yds. 


sq. yd 


mUe 


8 


4,693 1-3 


$0.25 


$1,173.33 1-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.25 


1,466.66 2-3 


12 


7,040 


.25 


1,760.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.25 


2,053.33 1-3 


16 


9,396 2-3 


.25 


2,346.66 2-5 


18 


10,560. 


.25 


2,640.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.30 


1,408.00 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.30 


1,760.00 


12 


7,040 


.30 


2,112.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.30 


2,464.00 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.30 


2,816.00 


18 


10,560 


.30 


3,168.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.35 


1,642.66 2-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.3S 


2,053.33 1-3 


12 


7,040 


.35 


2,464.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.35 


2,874.66 2-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.35 


3,285.33 1-3 


18 


10,560 


.35 


3,696.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.40 


1,877.33 1-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.40 


2,346.66 2-3 


12 


7,040 


.40 


2,816.00 


14 


8,231 1-3 


.40 


3,285.33 1-3 



298 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



Nil I 



iber of square yards and cost fcr 
7-arious prices per square 



mile for different 7vidths and 
vard. — Continued. 



1th in 


Number 


Cost per 


Cost per 


feet 


sq. yds. 


sq. yd. 


mile 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.40 


3,754.66 2-3 


18 


10,560 


.40 


4,224.00 


8 


9,693 1-3 


.45 


2,112.00 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.45 


2,640.00 


12 


7,040 


.45 


3,168.00 


U 


8,213 1-3 


.45 


3,696.00 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.45 


4,224.00 


18 


10,560 


.45 


4,752.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.50 


2,346.66 2-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.50 


2,933.33 1-3 


12 


7,040 


.50 


3,520.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.50 


4,106.66 2-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.50 


4,693.33 1-3 


18 


10,560 


.50 


5,280.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.60 


2,816.00 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.60 


3,520.00 


12 


7,040 


.60 


4,224.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.60 


4,928.00 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.60 


5,632.00 


18 


10,560 


.60 


6,336.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.65 


3,050.66 2-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.65 


3,813.33 1-3 


12 


7,040 


.65 


4,576.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.65 


5.338.66 2-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.65 


6,101.33 1-3 


18 


10,560 


.65 


6,864.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.70 


3,285.33 1-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.70 


4,106.66 2-3 


12 


7,040 


.70 


4,928.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.70 


5,749.33 1-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.70 


6,570.66 2-3 


18 


10,560 


.70 


7,392.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.75 


3,520.00 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.75 


4,400.00 


12 


7,040 


.75 


5,280.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.75 


6,160.00 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.75 


7,040.00 


18 


10,560 


.75 


7,920.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.80 


3,754.66 2-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.80 


4,693.33 1-3 


12 


7,040 


.80 


5,632.00 



ROADS AND UK I DOES 



299 



X umber of square yards and cost per mile for different ividths and 
various prices per square yard — Continued 



Width in 


Number 


Cost per 


Cost per 


feet 


sq. yds. 


sq. yd. 


mile 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.80 


6,570.66 2-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.80 


7,509.33 1-3 


18 


10,560 


.80 


8,448.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.85 


3,989.33 1-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.85 


4,986.66 2-:^ 


12 


7,040 


.85 


5,984.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.85 


6,981 .ii 1-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.85 


7,978.66 2-3 


18 


10,560 


.85 


8,976.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.90 


4,224.00 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.90 


5,280.00 


12 


7,040 


.90 


6,336.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.90 


7,392.00 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.60 


8,448.00 


18 


10,560 


.60 


9,504.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


.95 


4,458.66 2-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


.95 


5,573.33 1-3 


12 


7,040 


.95 


6,688.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


.95 


7,802.66 2-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


.95 


8,917.33 -13 


18 


10,560 


.95 


10,032.00 


8 


4,693 1-3 


1.00 


4,693.33 1-3 


10 


5,866 2-3 


1.00 


5,866.66 2-3 


12 


7,040 


1.00 


7,040.00 


14 


8,213 1-3 


1.00 


8,213.33 1-3 


16 


9,386 2-3 


1.00 


9,386.66 2-3 


18 


10,560 


1 .00 


10,560.00 



Where the road is to be covered with gravel, or with 
a mixture of gravel, sand and clay, or with other forms 
of materials which are not very hard nor especially pre- 
pared, a great deal of common sense must be used in 
writing specifications and in following them. It is 
usually better to express the plan in terms somewhat 
general, but to make the requirements rigid as to secur- 
ing the very best roadbed practicable under conditions 
which may develop as the work nears completion, and 
then have the work done under a competent superin- 
tendent. Each new road undertaken brings up new 
problems. 



?oo 



FARM DKVELOPMENT 




G^ 




The road engineer, or person who has charge of public 
highways, must have a sense of careful discrimination 
that he may not make a plan so expensive that the peo- 
ple will never carry it out. But. taking all things into 
consideration, he should make a plan, which, when fol- 
lowed out, will give the most permanent road which it 
is practical under all the circumstances to build and 
pay for. 

Bridges and culverts. — It is outside the scope of this 
hook to discuss the intricate problems of general bridge 

engineering. The efifort 

is rather to educate farm- 
ers in the lines which 
they often must manage 
unaided. 1 e a v i n g the 
planning and construction 
of expensive steel, stone, 
cement and complicated 
wooden bridges to bridge 
engineers and to bridge- 
constructing companies. 
Extensive observation 
and experience warrant some general advice to those 
made responsible for the giving of contracts for public 
bridges. County commissioners sometimes make the 
mistake of deciding upon the size of a bridge needed 
over a given stream without having first secured all the 
facts. Thus numerous bridges have been built too low 
and with insuflficient room allowed between the abut- 
ments, or the abutments have not been suflficiently well 
built to withstand the strain of the occasional excessive 
flood. Tt pays the board which is responsible for the 
bridge to employ a competent engineer who knows how 
to secure the facts as to the probable height and force 
of flood water and how to estimate the height, width 
and strength of the structure necessary to meet the con- 



Figuie 17"). Pioneer wooden culverts are 
being rapidly supplanted by stone and cement. 



ROADS AND liKIDCiiiS 



^O L 



ditions. It is not always necessary to make a plan for 
the bridge, as the representative of each of the compet- 
ing bridge-building firms may he willing to submit a 
plan for such a structure as his establishment is qualified 
to erect and deems best for the purpose. Such plans can 
be referred to some authority on bridge structures as 
well as to the resident engineer. Competing firms will 
use care to have their plans well made if they are re- 
quired to submit their plans to well-known experts. 

In the construction of culverts and small bridge struc- 
tures permanency is a very important element. The 
wooden culverts of the pioneer community should be 
replaced as rapidly as possible with iron pipes, sewer 
pipes, stone archways, cement structures, concrete rein- 
forced with iron, or with small bridges of a combina- 
tion of iron, cement, stone and wood. All these forms 
of bridges are comparatively expensive and cannot be 
afforded in the early days 




Figure I'fi. .Stone eulvert. 



of the community. It is 
not wise to undertake to 
reconstruct all the 
bridges of a district at once, 
but by making a few per- 
manent structures each 
year the county or town- 
ship will eventually have 

the waterways beneath its roads made of such enduring 
materials that their reconstruction every few years, neces- 
sary where wood was used, will be a thing of the past. 

Concrete culverts. — The following statement by Hon. 
Thomas McDonald, of the Iowa highway commission, 
gives some explicit directions for making culverts. As 
a rule, it is wise to purchase forms of reinforcing bars 
manufactured especially for that purpose. 

" Unless the cost of concrete materials is very cheap, 
and unless the haul is short, the flat top form of con- 



302 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




struction will prove more economical than the arch top 
for culverts. Less concrete is required, not only in the 
top, but in the sides. The forms are simpler to build, 
and the cost of labor is usually lessened. 

" In the construction of the fiat top culverts it is neces- 
sary to use in the to]:)s alM)ut T per cent of steel in the 
form of steel rods, l)ars, old railroad rails, beams, or the 
patented forms of reinforcing" bars. 

" The forms will generally be built of 2-inch lumber 
surfaced on one side with tight joints to prevent 

escape of the mortar. These 
will be reinforced at inter- 
\als of 2 to 3 feet with 
_' X 4's. The weight of con- 
crete tamped into place is 
s(i great that unless the 
forms are built rigid they 
will bend or break under the 
load, and an unsightly job 
will be produced. These 
forms should l)e left in place about two weeks at least 
and for culverts to or t2 feet wide a longer time. 

" A very much better grade of concrete can be made 
out of cement, sand, and broken stone than with the sand 
and cement, and the proportions used would be: one part 
cement, three parts sand, and six parts of the broken stone 
for the sides, wing walls, bottom and foundations of the 
cidverts, and one part cement, tzvo parts sand, and four 
parts of tJie broken stone for the top. 

" The rods should be embedded in the concrete very 
close to the under side of the top and near the inside 
of the side walls. For a culvert with a 4-foot clear span 
the following dimensions are recommended : Thickness 
of top 8 inches, reinforced with -)4-inch corrugated bars, 
spaced 8 inches center to center. If the sides are 4 feet 
hisfh above the foundation thev shoidd be 6 inches thick 



Cement culvert willi wing- 



ROADS AXn llRIDGES 3O3 

and reinforced with ^-inch corrugated bars, about 20 
inches center to center. If plain bars are used a some- 
what larger per cent of reinforcement should be used. 

" For a yard of concrete in the proportions one, three, 
six there will be required i.ii barrels of cement, 0.47 
cubic yards of sand, and 0.94 cubic yards of stone. At 
the prices given the materials alone for a yard of con- 
crete would be in the neighborhood of $3.50, not includ- 
ing the hauling or mixing. For the one, tzvo, four con- 
crete 1.57 barrels of cement will be required. 0.44 cubic 
yards of sand, and 0.88 cubic yards of broken stone. 

" The forms, which are always a costly part of small 
culverts, should be designed so that they can be used a 
number of times without wasting the lumber. 

'' The shape of the culvert is exactly like a square box 
with the ends knocked out. and it may or may not have 
a floor. If it does not. the side walls should be carried 
down to a good foundation. All culverts should have 
wing walls built at the ends projecting at an angle of 
about 30 degrees." 

PHYSICS OF ROADS 

By referring to the discussion of the movement of the 
water in the soil the reader will understand some of the 
physical problems in road drainage. In nearly all cases, 
water softens the road, though in some cases, as in sand, 
it assists in making the road surface compact. The 
principles involved in farm drainage apply in a general 
way to the drainage of a roadbed. Where a roadbed 
is filled with standing ground water, it is more difficult 
to keep it solid than where it is well drained, and even 
an excess of capillary water in and near the surface 
makes most roadways less solid and less durable. 

It is an advantage to have the roadbed shed the rain 
to the roadside ditch, not allowing it to penetrate into 




304 FAKAl L)i:VliLOrMliNT 

llic subsoil. And when the water does enter the sur- 
face the substructure is better if constituted of sand 
.q'ravel or stones, so that it will allow the water to per 
colate freel_v downward or to seep olT sideways through 
the open layers of the material of the roadbed Or it 
should be underdrained in such a manner that the 
ground water will sink to at least a few feet below the 
surface. The upper part of the substructure can some- 
times be made of C(Tarse material, through which the 

water can seep sideways, 
even though the lower part 
of the grade is made of im- 
pervious clay. 
Puddling is a character 
FiKuio Ks. A. wi».,i ni, ,1 ,,i MMt.r,; pccuHar to soils made up 

].. wlu't'l oil sdft. yuiilins smi.i.i'. ' '^ 

largely of clay. They be- 
come soft and mushy when wet. but if thoroughly mixed 
and worked up while wet, they do not allow water to 
pass through ihem. Tf puddled S(jils are dried rapidly 
they become hard and brittle. Thus, the roadway is 
often cut up into ruts 1n^ the wheels of vehicles and the 
tramping of horses ; depressions in these puddled places 
retain water as does a dish, and when these become 
dry the road is made \'ery rough by the hard clods 
of earth. In some cases, these soils become softened 
again when soaked with rain, though with some soils 
the clods remain hard for an extended time. Materials 
Avhich become soft when wet, even though they are 
hard when dry, are very poorly suited for road surfaces. 
These clays are sometimes useful to mix with gravels 
or even with sand to help combine the coarser 
materials into a surface which will not be soft 
in wet weather nor too easily crumbled when 
dry. Puddling is caused by a readjustment of the 
particles of the clay when wet. The cementing mate- 
rials harden, holding together the particles of soil, 



ROADS AND BKIDGES 



305 



as lime hardens and cements together the particles of 
sand in mortar. Some of this cement is needed in 
loose sands or gravels to bind them together in 
making a firm road surface, since they are too loosely 
knit together. 

Properties of surfacing materials. — That part of the road- 
way which receives the weight of the passing vehicles 
and teams, to best serve its purpose, must have a number 
of qualities of which solidity is the first requisite. It must 
be so solid that the heavy loads will not break it down 
and thus crumble the crust which is designed to lie 
intact upon the substructure of the roadway. Thus, a 
thin hard surface might not 
have under it a solid basis 
and it might be crushed into 
the soft earth beneath it. 
In Figure 180 is shown how 
mixed sand and gravel over 
a peaty soil, unless a foot 
thick, will be shoved into the soft peat below. A road 
surface made of macadam or telford, if sufficiently thick, 
will not be crushed into the substructure, even if soft 
clay underlies, though with a solid substructure a thinner 
layer will sufifice. 

Resistance to traction. — A surface is desired which is 

hard and smooth at the top. 




Figui'e 179. Cross-section of macadam 
road. A, lower layer of 6 or more inches 
of 2 to 3 -inch stone; B, middle layer of 
1 to 2-inch stone; C, layer of broken stone 
under 1 inch, dust, etc. 



Ki;;urL- ISO. Roadway nia<le of S inches 
of gravel on peat, which the wheels soon 
punch into the soft miiik. 



that the wheels of vehicles 
may not sink in and be 
constantly required to climb 
over or displace an obstruc- 
tion as if climbing up a hill. 
As we require the best steel in the edge of an ax, so we 
require the hardest, toughest material to endure the wear 
at the surface of the road. (See Figure 177.) 

Durability. — Not only is it expensive to make per- 
manent grades, but road surfaces are costly, especially 



3o6 



FARM DEVliLOP.MENT 



^S 



Figure 181. Koailsiile ditclies Willi veitical 
outer edges. 



if they must be often renewed. Thus, in making a 
macadam road, as in Figure 179, limestone is suitable 
for the lower two-thirds of the bed of stone, but harder 
rock, as trap rock or granite, on the surface will longer 
endure the wearing of wheels and teams. Some 
kinds of gravel, likewise, are very much more valuable 

for the upper few inches 
of surface than are other 
kinds. Gravel made up of 
granite and trap rock will 
wear very much longer than 
gravels composed of lime- 
stone or other soft stones. Bricks dififer in hardness 
and durabilitv. Paving brick made in certain localities 
have proven so superior o\-er the brick made in many 
other localities that 
they are shipped hun- 
dreds of miles for 
street and road paving. 
Ease of repairing is 
also an important pro])- 
erty of the road sur- 
face. In this connec- 
tion, attention must be Figuie I82. in tluuwing eanli fiom roadside 
, , . ditch to the center of tlie roadway with the re- 

given in the selection veisiWe road machUie the operator can make a 
" ditcli with vertical outer bank. leaving the ditch 

of material for SUrfaC- ■md earth as sIioh-ii by the llne a D; sUmting out^r 

banlis. as at B F; or rounded bank, as at C E. 

ing the road to the 

ease of getting material for repairs. Materials for 
construction brought long distances at much expense 
are sometimes doubly expensive for repairing if the 
same material must be brought at a disadvantage. 
There are sometimes less suitable materials near at 
hand which can easily be secured for renewing broken 
surfaces and in the end are more practical for the 
original construction than arc the somewhat better 
kinds wliicli must l)e broutrht lon-j- distances. 







p ' 








i 








■ 


—r 


-<^'"^^^^^^~~^^^;<^v. 


A B C 









•^- y^ 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



307 




THE ROADBED 

Draining the roadbed. — Almost any kind of material. 
except loose gravel or sand or soft peat, will make a hard 
road under a roof which keeps off the rain. On the other 
hand, no material except rock or other very hard sub- 
stance will make a satisfactory road surface if it is kept 
constantly wet by rain or by ground water. XA'ater 
which falls upon the roadbed should be conducted side- 
ways into the roadside ditch by having the roadways 
slope from the center to 
the sides. The water flow- 
ing from the surface of the 
road to the side ditch, and ^.,^^^^^ ^^., ^,,^^„„,^,, ,„^,,^ 

flood water flowing from 

adjacent lands upon the roadway, should be taken care 
of by ample ditches. Where ground water rises within 
a few feet of the surface beneath roads it should be 
carried off by means of tile drains. Figures 181 to 189 
illustrate roadside ditches of various forms. In 
Figure 181 is shown the earth road as rounded up with 

the reversible road ma- 
chine. The ditches being 
beside fences, their outer 
banks are often left ver- 
tical. The reversible ma- 
chine can be so adjusted 
that both slanting and 
rounded ditches can be 
made as shown in Figures 182, 183 and 184. Where the 
slush or drag scraper is used to make roadside ditches 
they are left in awkward form, as shown in Figure 185. In 
many cases the reversible machine can be used to finish 
the road and ditches thus made, leaving them much in the 
form shown in Figure 181. (See also Figure 207.) At 
Figure 187 is shown a cross-section of a large drainage 




Figure 184. Boadway with ruunded ditch 
on left side and neat crop growing nearly 
to the wheel tracks. On right side the 
ditch has a steep banls. Outside tlie banl; 
and between the banlv and tlie wheel tract; 
are areas uncoutli with large weeds. 



3o8 



FAR.M DEVELOPMENT 



Kisure 180. .\vvKw;ail luuilsid 
made with drag or slush scraper. 



canal on one side of a roadway, the earth excavated from 
the canal havinij;' been nsed for the rr^adbed. At Fignre 
i88 is shown a hillside road improperly made, in which 
the water flowing from the upper side of the hill enters 

the road and follows down 
the wheel tracks, washing 
out a ditch in the center of 
the roadway. In Figure 
1S9 this same road is 
shown with ditch on the 
upper side, paved with cobblestone or other material 
which will not be displaced by the running water. It is 
sometimes necessary at short intervals down the hill to 
have the ditch from the upper side of the road cross 
the crown of the road to 
carry the water across the 
roadway, as in Figure 190. 
By this means the water 
accumulating in the ditch 
on the upper side of the 
roadbed is carried across 

and discharged on the lower side, thus avoiding a large 
ditch, which would be necessary to carry the water ac- 
cumulating along the upper side of the roadbed on 

a long hillside. In case of 
very important roadways, 
where these cross drains 
would be objectionable be- 
cause of making uneven 
places in the line of the 
grade, the water may be 
carried across the road by means of sewer or drain tiles 
used as sewers to carry the water beneath the crown of 
the road, as in Figure 191. Figure 192 shows a tile drain 
under the center of the roadway, and Figure 193 a tile 
drain under each roadside ditch. Figure 194 shows a 




litclies oil both siiles 




Figure 187. Cmss- 
canal along a roadw: 
used as a roadway. 



ROADS AM) r.KlDCh'.S 



309 




tile drain on only one side of the roadway in case of a 
springy hillside where the tile drain intercepts the water 
and prevents it flowing under the grade. 

Often those in charge of roadways can enter into 
voluntary co-operation with farm owners to make a 
drainage canal which will at once drain the roadbed and 
adjacent fields. Thus an open, or a tile drain, through 
a low area, as A to B, Figure i(]5. will be a practical 
way to drain the low areas on the adjoining farms, and 
at the same time lower the water so that the road grade 
through the low area, C, E, need not he built so high 
to have its surface well drained. i'>y co-operating in 
the expenditure, the net profit to the four farmers and to 
the public is greatly in- 
creased over that of 
building a high grade 
from C to E by the public 
and making a drain by 
the farmers unaided by 
the public fund. As was 
mentioned under the sub- 
ject of drainage, the public, as represented by road of- 
ficials, should deal liberally with owners of adjacent wet 
lands in co-operating and making drains needed to drain 
the road as well as to drain the fields, and our laws 

should be so constructed 
as to encourage the co-op- 
eration of the public and 
interested private parties. 
Thus, in Figure 105, is 
shown a broad marsh 
which needs draining. The 
road must either have the 
water level lowered by means of drainage or it must be 
built up rather high. If the land is peaty, a high and 
expensive road will be necessary, as in Figure 197, and 



Figure 188. rphill giaile along the side of 
a 1)111. There lieing no iliicli at A. the water 
from above. B, Hous on the center of tlie roail 
anti following tlie wlieel tracks washes sutlers. 
C, C. 




Figure 189. The same road as in Figure 
188, but here a paved ditch at A collects 
the water and prevents its washing over the 
surface, C, which is thus kept dr.v. 



3IO 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




the weight in the heav}' grade may compress the peat, 
requiring an unnecessary amount of heav}^ earth to keep 
the crown of the road al)ove standing water. If the water 
is lowered below the surface by means of suitable ditches, 
a thinner layer of clay covered with gravel will make a 
good roadbed. Private individuals who contemplate sys- 
tems of farm drainage which might ha\e a connection 

with the drainage of ad- 
jacent roadways should 
take into consideration the 
needs of the roads. AVhere 
it is practicable, the y 
should confer with officials 
responsible for j^lanning 
and constructing roads, 
that together they may de- 
A'ise a plan mutually useful 
to the lanflowner and the 
public. Here, again, we 
see the need of a trained 
official who is res])onsible 
for ])]anning roads and to 
whom prixate individuals may go with plans for co- 
operative enterprises in which the public is interested. 
In very many cases, where 
the road needs an under- 
drain which must eventu- 
ally be placed. the only prot'lcted masonry .-,1 ends. 

practical outlet is through 

the tile drains in the nearlv level fields adjoining. If the 
farmer completes his drains without considering the 
needs of the roadway, the tiles he uses and the grades he 
provides in his tile drains may not be adapted to carrying 
the additional water necessary to drain the roadway. 
It is plain that the farmer is not bound to make his drains 
so that the public may drain the road through them, 



Figure 190. Tlie water in the ditch. A, 
Figure 1S9. accumulates to a large volume 
on long hills and should be carried across 
the crown of the road, as at X, Y, and dis- 
charged on the lower side, where it can 
escape over the surface or be carried oft 
in a ditch. The grade across from X to 
Y must be low-er than the grade down the 
hill. A drain tile, as at M, to carry watei' 
under the crown of the road, is often 
much better than the "thank-you-ma'am." 
X, Y. 



ROADS AXl) r.KIDCES 



311 



Figuie 192. Drain lile 
middle of tlie roadway. 



laid uiulur tin 



but the public should co-operate with him, paying" such 
portion of the necessary expenses as is equitable and fair. 
Without someone to look ahead and plan the roads for 
permanent structures such matters do not receive atten- 
tion, and no county official better earns his salary than 
the competent county engineer. 

Grade formation. — The immense expense of making 
cuts and fills so as to make our public highways more 
nearly level, and the turnpiking of roads on nearly level 
lands so as to slightly ele- 
vate the crown of the road 
and to provide surface 
ditches on each side, is an 
enormous undertaking, be- 
cause of the exceeding great 

length of roads. AA'ith the new impulse for more 
thoroughgoing road work this part of the road work 

of America wall be carried 
forward with much energy, 
j and while the plans are not 
,„., ,. .,.,., , ., , , alwavs sufficiently well 

I'ii;urt' 10?!. Line oi dram tdc. laid 1 to - -' 

:: feet deep, under eacli side nf roaduay. vVOrkcd OUt SO that the 

grades will not need to be remade, the work in general 
will r.un'e along with rapidity, .'-^ince distance is such a 
large element of cost in 
moving road material, it is 
often economy to purchase 
material from private own- 
ers near by. In other cases 
the requirements of the 
knver ]:)art of the surfacing 
of the roadbed may be such 
that it is desirable to have a layer of open, pervious 
material just beneath the surfacing. This is especially 
important where the crown of the road is but slightly 
elevated above the ground water, and where the mate- 





Figure 194. Drain tile used tn jiiiinr 
ivater on upper side uf maduay nn ,1 ^piUi; 
liillside. 



312 



FARM DEVELUi'MENT 



rial necessarily used for surfacing is such that capillary 
water will rise through it and keep the surfacing moist. 
In this case it will pay to go longer distances, or to 
make special effort to purchase suitable material for 
the upper layer of the substructure than will ordinarily 
])e necessary. 

Width of road. — Since the road laws in most states 
were made in pioneer times when lands were not high- 
priced, provision was often made for the liberal width 

of four rods or more 
for public highways. 
In many cases these 
could be cut down, 
and thus add to the 
area of the farmers' 
productiA'e fields. 

The width of the 
surfaced grade depends 
upon various condi- 
tions. — ]u case of a 
nuich traveled road 
tlie part available for 
teams should be 24 feet 

F.guie iii.l. l!uth road and farms drained Ijy a . , , 

deep ditch. A. B. made by road officials and farm- q]- eX'CU WUlcr tllC 

ers co-operating, into wliich drains from tlie swamp 

and from the roadway lead. ditcll bciug O U t S i (1 C 

this width. In case of cross roads i6 feet is a good 
a\'erage width. Farm roads entering private lands 
usually need to be only 8 to 12 feet wide, and simple 
cartways to the fields only wide enough to acct)mm()date 
llic ordinary wagon. 7 or 8 feet, while for l)icycle paths 
a width of 2 to 4 feet is sufficient. 

In some cases where drainage is extensively united 
with road making, as in very flat lands where heavy 
roadside ditches are needed, the crown of the road is 
often made 40 or more feet wide, as a matter of con- 
A'enience in throwing up earth necessarily taken from 



160 ACRE FABM 


80 ACRC FARM 


'. ■ ■ ' 240 ACPE FARM 

ic ';■■.. ^■■. 
: '■■^^:^ 
; ;a 

;o / 

IB. 


160 ACRE FAPM 



ROADS AM) i'.Riiii;i:s 



3^^ 



the broad drains Avhich form the roadside ditches. In 
other cases, as in the semi-arid regions of the central 
\Vest, only a single team path or narrow roadway, 
rounded up with the reversible machine, making shallow 
side ditches, is all that is required because teams can 
easily turn out on either side on the solid earth. 

In prominent roads, the important subject to be taken 
into consideration in deciding upon the width is the kind 
of surfacing material which will be used later on and its 
position on the crown of the road, whether on the cen- 
ter or at one side of the center. These materials are 
expensive and are usually laid from 9 to 16 feet wide, 
though wider on very prominent roads. 

ECONOMIC HANDLING OF EARTH 



In no part of road making has machinery been so well 
developed for saving labor and for making possible im- 
proved roads, as in carry- 
ing dirt from roadside 
ditches to the rounded 
roadbed in making the 

.. ^ . KiKHie 1:16. Cross-section of ;i grade .Tcross 

Ordmary country dU't road. I'eaty land. The clay layer, 0. is only a foot 

•^ -^ thick. ,ind is covered with S inches of gravel. 

The reversible road ma- TIhs arade is not too heavy, and has a star 

hi it torn zone, which will not be cnislied into 

chine is by far the most '"" p''^"- "^ i" ^'^"'^ ^^'■ 
important machine in road building. The elevating grader 
is also a very important invention, and when large 
amoimts of earth are to be taken from ditches on either 
side of the road and built up into an embankment it is 

\ery useful. While the 
greater adaptability of the 
reversible machine makes 
it better for lighter grad- 
ing, the less cost per cubic 

Figure in:. Heavy grade built across a yard of earth handled. 

m.ush. The weight compresses the peat at K. " 

111(1 in some cases causes it to ooze out and Avliere the SfradCS are lieavV 
iiilge up, as at M. displacing and even "^ _ - 

iiie.iking culverts laid to carry water from ^,-,^1 ]onSf, GfiveS great im- 

.-liallou- ditches under the grade. '^ " '^ 




314 



FARM DliVliLOPMENT 




portance to the elevating grader. The slush scraper, 
long used for making rounded road surfaces, is now use- 
ful only where the reversible machine cannot be used, as 
where, owing to short length of roadway or other dif- 
ficulty, the reversible 
machine cannot be 
successfully handled. 
The cost of moving 
earth from shallow 
ditches to the center 
of the road with the 
slush scraper is so 

Figure 1!)S. Railiuail plow used in breaking up , , 

hard earth preparatory to handling with scraper or mUCll UlOrC tnail tllC 
reversible machine. . . . 

cost of removing it 
with the reversil:)le r(^ad machine that the latter is usually 
more practicable. 

The reversible road machine, — In Figures 198 to 201, 
inclusive, are shown methods of handling earth with the 
the reversible road ma- 
chine. While no general 
rule can be laid down ap- 
plicable to all conditions, 
yet the plans given in the 
figures mentioned will il- 
lustrate the subject so that 
the operator of the revers- 
ible machine will be able to 
figure out for each soil and 
roadbed a method of plow- 
ing up the earth, carrying ^,^^„^_^,^ ^^^^ ^^^,^^^.^,^ ^^^,^.,^^ ^„.„^ .,^ 
it to the center with the """ plowing. 
blade of the reversible 

machine and mixing it, or laying a chosen portion on the 
surface, as will best economize labor and furnish the most 
useful roadway. In some cases the material taken from 
the roadside ditches is suitable for making a fairly good 




ROADS AND IJRUMiKS 



surface, but in the majority of instances the material thus 
rounded up makes a good road only when the weather 
is dry. 

Figure 198X shows the road machine doing its own plow- 
ing in starting a ditch. Usually the better way is to first 
throw out a furrow-slice with a road plow, shown in Figure 
198, or with a common stubble plow, then carry it over 
toward the center with the blade of the reversible 
machine. Figure 199 shows a reversible road machine 
shoving a furrow-slice toward the center of the turn- 




Fi^'ll^e I!II1. Ucveisihle in,M] iii.irhiiic iiioviiis a flirnnv-sli 



ei (if llie i.ia.l. 



pike. The blade is like an extended moldboard, which 
carries the earth over two or more feet each time around. 
These machines are called reversible, because there is a 
mechanism for placing the blade with the end now dis- 
charging the slice of earth in front, and the end now 
in front behind, thus enabling the machine to plow 
right-hand in one direction and, turning about, serve as a 
left-hand plow and throw the same furrow slice over 
still further. On a road with a level cross-section, 



31(3 



FAKAr r)l':VRLOP.\IENT 



where a tlitch is made either side, the machine is not 
reversed, the teams going up one side and down the 
other, making the roadway into a large backfurrow. Where 
the roadway follows a hillside the reversible feature 
enables the machine to throw the dirt in the same direc- 
tion one way whether drawn awav from or toward the 
starting point. 

])Ut the immense benefit to our roads by the use of 
the reversible road machine, even before special surfac- 
ing is applied, is indeed 
very great. Mere wheel 
tracks cut into the surface 
of the native sod. and ruts 
and miserable mire holes 
in low areas are becoming 
things of the past, and 
rounded roadbeds, from 
which the water runs into 
the roadside ditches, are a 
very great improvement. 
As the desires and demands 
for better roads increase, 
and as the profits of our 
farms and other industries 
accrue so that the expense 
can be borne, these roadbeds will serve the most im- 
portant purpose of well-formed and properly drained 
substructures upon which to place a surface of gravel 
or harder material. The reversible road machine is the 
forerunner of the gravel car, the stone crusher and the 
paving brick kiln. Even the iron rails adapted to carry- 
ing the rural electric car as well as the wheels of the 
produce wagon are seeking roadbeds made by the re- 
versible road machine. Rural mail deliver3^ the rural 
industries and the social life of rural communities owe 
much to this simple machine. 




Figure 2ft0. Reversilile lo.nd machine carry 
ill!; dirt from deep roadside diloli tmvard tli( 
center of the road. 



ROADS A\D r.Kii)(;i:s 



3^7 



The elevating grader, Figures 202 to 204, inclusive, is 
used in a manner similar to that described for the revers- 
ible machine in grade construction. \Miile plowing is 
sometimes necessary to loosen the earth that it may be 
easily moved by the reversible machine, the elevating 
grader has its own plow. Eight to sixteen horses are 
required to operate this powerful machine. It is managed 
by one man. while each driver guides four or even eight 
horses. It does not place the earth in position to form 
a well-rounded road and the reversible road machine 
must be used to finish the crown of the grade. In 
Figures 205 and 206 are shown how the earth is piled in 
one or two ridges accord- 
ing to the width between 
the ditches and the length 
of the elevating belt in 
use. The dotted lines in 
these two figures show 
the curved surface when 
the rcA'ersible road ma- 
chine has been used to 
smooth the ridged sur- 
face left by the elevating 
grader. 

The drag or slush 
scraper ( sec Figure 106) , in 
addition to being a more 
expensive means of car- 
rying the earth from tlie ditch to tnc center of the road, 
is not so well adapted to making a srood road surface 
as either of the machines mentioned above, though it is 
an indispensable implement to use in many places where 
it is not practicable to use the larger machines men- 
tioned. The material thus placed in the center does not 
pack or wear evenly and ruts soon form in the wheel 
tracks. Where the reversible machine can be procured, 




Figure 2iil. IJeveis'hle roiul machine cut- 
ting .iwiiy ;i bank to widen an old road, 
.sliowmg Iiow the l)lade may be set so as to 
-eacli Jilt beyond the wheels and cut down 
the banl;. 



3'<^ 



FARM l)i:\l':i.()l'MENT 



roads which ha\c been foniied h\- the slush scraper can 
be worked o\'er and made into much better form. In 
Figure 207 is shown the form of the ditch and the crown 
of a road originally made with the slush scraper and re- 




Figure 202. Elevating graders are made in different sizes. Tlie elevators ;ire adjust - 
able so as tn deliver the dirt near or far from the plow, or to elevate it iiilii a dump 
wagon. 




Fitrure '20''. Klevatin;! 
grades. 



ladiT. ver.v cliiMply 



It of ditclios 



modeled with the reversible machine. The slush 
scraper can be advantageously used in some instances 
to carry the best material for the road surface to the top 
of the' roadbed. If the best surfacing material exists in 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



319 



the top soil, this can he placed on the surface hy carryins;" 
the subsoil forward and placing it in the bottom of the 
grade and carrying the surface soil backward and plac- 
ing it on top of the new grade. In rare cases the dif- 
ference in the quality of the material for the surface will 
make it economy to use the slush, wheel or Fresno 
scraper rather than the reversible machine, that the earth 
may be assorted and the best placed above, where it is 




Figure liiil. Elevating grader staitiiig tii plow out tuo roadside ditches and "levate 
the earih lo tlie middle of the roadway. 

utilized in making a better surface. In such cases the 
road can be finished by passing over several times with 
the reversible machine, thus shaving the grade down to a 
uniform line. When the road has been used for some time 
and the uneven packing has resulted in an uneven grade 
line, this can be remedied by the reversible machine. By 
setting the blade nearly at right angles to the line of 
draft, earth is carried from the high places in the road 
and left in the low places, thus making a smooth and 
uniform surface. The expert operator, with a good re- 
versible machine, can remodel or repair the surface of 
very rough earth roads to a nicety. (See Slush and 
Fresno Scrapers, Figures 115 and 115a. 

Excavating cuts and building grades. — Where the 
earth is to be moved not more than five rods the slush 



320 



FARM l)i:VF.L()P>[ENT 




-^Z f T ■ 



Figure 205. Earth as left by the elevatins 
Kiatler in two liiiges ou a wide road wheic 
the belt is not long enough to carry it to the 
center. B.v means of the reversible machine 
the.se ridges are easily distributed along the 
.sides and in the center, making a roundel 
crown as shown by the curved line. 



or the Fresno scraper may often be used economically. 
Where the material is to be moved lo to 20 rods, the 
wheel scraper serves a most excellent purpose. AMiere 
material must be drawn much more than 20 rods, 
wagons or carts, filled by shovel or spade or with a 
dump upon which the earth is drawn by scrapers, are 

to be preferred. A\"here 
the amount of earth to be 
handled is lari^e.. and the 
distance long, dump cars 
on a narrow, movable iron 
track are more econom- 
ical than wagons. Loaded 
cars may often be run by 
gravitation from the cut 
to the fill, a team being used to draw the emptied train 
Ijack to the pit. By means of side switches or double 
tracks two or more trains can be operated at once. In 
some cases the wire cable may serve as a track for carry- 
ing iron hanging barrows 
full of earth across places 
where it is not practicable 
to use wagons nor to 
build a track for dump 
cars. 

Placing the materials 
of the grade. — For the 
bulk of a heavy grade 

any solid earthy material will serve the purpose, unless 
it be quicksand, which will not stand up. In some in- 
stances earth which will not be washed out by rain and 
is adapted to supporting grass with a strong sod, should 
be placed on the outer slanting edge of the grade. But 
there is much room for choice in selecting the material 
for the upper layer of the subsurface and for the material 
of the surface of the roadbed. Materials from the cut 




Figure 206. Earth as left by the elevating 
grader in one ridge on a narrow road. Tlie 
dotted line shows the curve over the crown 
after the reversible machine has been used to 
finish the surface. 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



321 




should be so chosen for the upper part of the substructure 
that the gravel or other surfacing material may have a 
dry, firm bed to lie on. By this means, the amount of 
surfacing materials needed will often be reduced and 
the expense of a" good road be made less. Placing the 
materials systematically, and carefully tramping each 
load, is necessary in some cases, but where the grade 
may be given a year in which to settle before placing a 
permanent surface, it may easily be leveled down with 
a reversible road machine 
before the final surfacing 
is laid. 

The crowns and side 
ditches. — The form of the 
cross-section diiTers with 

, , r • J • 1 1 Figure 207. The solid line shows tlie 

the SUrfaCmg materials used rough roadbed as left by the slush. Fresno 

. , ,. or wheel scraper. The dolled line shows 

and with some other COndl- the graded and rounded surface after it is 

dressed up with the reversible road nia- 

tions. In case of loose ^'•liie- 

gravel and of clay the steepness of the crown should 

vary from ^ inch to i^ inches to the foot. 

Where the center of the road is made up of materials 

which will be compacted or rapidly worn by travel, the 

slope from center to side is 
made considerable. Where 
the surface is hard and 
durable, thus forming a 
perfect watershed, the road 
„. .,„„ ^ , , . , , . may be more nearly level 

I'lgure MS. Heavy side ditches with outer -^ 

banks 54 feet apart. v>ith 2()-foot roadway K«<^qii c(=> it- it Kfffpr fn 

and small side ditches. A and B. at top of iJCi..dLLSC il l> IJCLLCI LU 

liigh grade, with grass seeded on sides of +,-^,,^1 rwrf^r in tlnic ^r>nr1i 

grades A. C and B. D. Often in very heavy LI aVCl OVCT Ul tUlS COnCll- 

clay roads these grassed sides can he used j- t j_1 1 

when tlie roadway. A, B, is wet and soft. tlOll. lU SOmC Cartll rOaClS 

which are built very broad, 
because of the large amount of earth from large drainage 
ditches at either side used in draining nearly level lands, 
it is necessary to use special means of draining the center 
of the roadway. In Figure 208 is shown how " top 




322 FAR^^ DEVELOPMENT 

ditches "" may be used to allow a sharper crown to be 
made in a narrow roadway in the center of the wide 
g"rade. Small spade ditches from these top ditches will 
carry the water to the drainage ditch below and, by 
proper management, the area between the top ditch and 
the main ditch can often be used for travel. In level 
countries made up of fine clay which is likely to drift be- 
fore the wind and leave a deposit in the large ditch along 
the sides of the road, these top ditches sometimes serve 
as a temporary expedient in repairing the road until 
such time as the main drainage ditches can be cleaned 
out and the grade dressed up anew. Top ditches may 
sometimes be advantageously used between the main 
roadway and the bicycle path to prevent teams being 
driven on the grassy or improved bicycle path on the slope. 

CONSTRUCTING THE ROAD SURFACE 

A complete catalogue of the materials used for sur- 
facing roads would be extensive. The attempt here will 
be to discuss only the several groups of these materials. 

Common earth and sand are, of necessity, as yet, more 
used for roadways than are all other classes of materials, 
since the soil or subsoil thrown up beside the road is 
easiest utilized for the roadbed. Soils composed largely 
of clay, when wet, are so soft, so easily cut into deep 
ruts, and cling so tenaciously to the wheels of vehicles 
and to the feet of animals, that they are the most 
unsatisfactory of all raw materials ; yet when dry and 
hard they make most excellent roads. Fine sand, 
on the other hand, is nearly as objectionable as soft 
clay. The sand becomes pulverized when dry, allow- 
ing the wheels of vehicles to sink so deep that they 
are dragged forward with great labor by draft animals 
which have a poor footing; bicycles and motor vehicles 
traverse such roads with great difficulty. AA^hen clay 



ROADS AX I) I'.KIDGES ^^2^ 

and sand are found mixed in the proportion of about 
one part of clay to three parts of sand, or when this mix- 
ture is artificially made, the road is very much improved. 
(See note on cost of sand-chiy roads, page 295.) 

Gravel as surfacin<y material. — While gravel does not 
make as dural:)le roads as crushed stone, it is prepared 
much cheaper, is \er}- widely distributed, and can be so 
cheap]}- procured, in many cases, that it is our most 
widely useful road-surfacing material. 

A^ery many grades or forms of gravel are to be found; 
some coarse, others fine ; some round, others subangular ; 
some soft, as limestone i>ebl)les; others hard, as pebbles 
of granite or trap rock. The sharper and harder the gravel 
the better, as a rule, 'idie size which is most desirable 
difiPers somewhat with the hardness, form and other 
characters of the gravel. Some gra\-els have, clay and 
other binding materials mixed in with them. In some 
cases gravel has been found containing sufficient iron so 
that the roadbed com])osed of it became cemented and 
hardened into a stonelike crust. 

Stones which are valuable for roads. — The trap rock 
of the palisades near Xew York City, owing to its hard- 
ness and wearing ability, is freighted himdreds of miles 
by canal and by rail to be used on road surfaces. The 
immense deposits of tra]i rock at Duluth and at other 
points in ^Minnesota will likewise be of great \'alue in 
making roads in the west, ddie rock at Duluth might 
be transported by rail ; and l)y boat it could be cheaply 
freighted to Alilwaukee. Chicago, Detroit, Bufifalo and 
other cities on the great lakes. From Taylors Falls, in 
addition to the railways, the St. Croix and ^Mississippi 
rivers furnish a cheap waterwa}' for floating trap rock 
to the cities along the banks of the Mississippi river. 

11ie difficulty in making macadam and telford roads 
is the immense cost of quarrying, crushing and trans- 
porting the heavy rock. W'hile there are many streets 



324 



FAR M 1 )i:vi:lop m ent 



and roads leading- to the country from large towns, and 
prominent roads between towns, on which the travel is 
sufficient to warrant the county and city, aided by the 
state, to make stone roads, still, owing to the cost, this 
form of structure can be used on but a small proportion 
ot our roadways. W^e must be content to use gravel on 
many of our improved roads, only slowly changing the 
most important roads to macadam. 

Wood and metal are used to a small extent in making 




Figure 209. Wheelers, and plow, carrying eartli from cut to grade. 

roadways. Wood lacks the quality of endurance, and 
is becoming more expensixe. Iron is very desirable, but 
its great cost precludes its use except in very limited 
(]uantities in special cases. Artificial stone, such as is 
used in city streets and walks, has not l)een found prac- 
tical for countr}- roads. Paving brick, however, is com- 
ing into use in some important roadways, and is, no 
doubt, destined to be of great use in road making. This 
material, laid in strips 8 or lo feet wide in the center, or 
at one side o( the center, of the road, makes a \ery satis- 



ROADS AXD i;rii)(;i:s 



0-.1 



factory driveway. A\'here ashes can be procured, they 
make a most useful substance for hardening the surface 
of the road and to use as the lower portion of the surface 
in bicycle paths. 

Mixing surface materials. — The mixing of materials in 
making up the surface of the roadway until recently has 
been but little studied from a scientific standpoint. As 
a general proposition. howe\er. under the ordinary 
climatic conditions of the United States, it may be said 
that a mixture of about equal i:»arts of gravel, sand and 




Kiguit -10. Dump uassoii, with leier and chain sear tu (ipen and close diop boUom. 

clay forms a good compact road surface, when the sub- 
soil is not miry. The road builder must constantly use 
his judgment in mixing the best materials secured from 
cuts, from the roadside or from adjacent fields in mak- 
ing up the dirt, gravel or sand-clay surface of the road- 
bed of the common road. Where the top of the 
substructure is made up of mixed sand and clay, and pos- 
sibly some gravel, the problem is how to add gravel or 
other coarse material which will make the road carry a 
heavier load without cutting, will be smooth and hard 
on the surface, and will endure the constant wear of 



3^6 



FAR-M Dl':VELOP.MENT 



travel. If tlie mixed soil contains considerable clav. 
coarse g'ravel mixed in it will improve the bod\- of the 
c-rnst of the roadbed, and if on top of this is placed some 
tine hard gravel, a fairly good road will resnlt. If the 
surface is composed largely of line clay with ver\ little 
sand or gravel entering into its composition, a still larger 




tioLiiL -1 t;i..Jii u t 1 „iiK 21 I'll t c 111 1 I e 11 1 

maCiid im suilace. with sliuuklers at!:iiiist iiiacidam road as it appears when spread 
«hich the lock lests. ready for rolling. 



amount of gravel will be necessary to give the solidity 
or carrying strength recfuired by the road surface. 

If, on the other hand, the surface of the grade is com- 
posed of sand, it will often be best to use gravel, or 
gravel into which a small amount of clay is mixed, or 
clav alone mav be mixed with the sand. Sand reallv 




Figure 2i;i. 'I'hiee courses of 
surface. S to 12 inches deep. 



Figure 214. Section of macadam 
surface. A. 2 to 3-inch roci?; B. 1 
to 2-inch sizes; C. fine rock and dust. 



makes a better substructure than clay, because any water 
that penetrates the surface can easily percolate down- 
ward, leaving the roadway dry. 

Where gravel, sand, clay, ashes, shells or other sim- 
ilar materials are hauled from a distance, much ex- 
pense can often be saved by using only that amount 
which, when mixed with the earth already on the road, 



ROADS AXD DKIUGES ^2"/ 

will make a good surface, instead of building up the 
entire road crust out of the material hauled. 

Quantities of graze! for roads of different zvidths and depths 

From the New Jersey Road Report is quoted the following 
table which gives the nurnbar of cubic yards of gravel required 
in the construction of one mile of gravel road of widths varying 
from 6 feet to 20 feet and depths from 6 to 11 inches. These quan- 
tities should be multiplied by 11-2 to give the number of cubic 
yards of loose gravel required to make the depths given below of 
compact gravel. 



Number of ft. 


Number of cu. 


Nimiber of cu. 


Number of cu. 


in width, road 


yds. in road 


yds. in road 


yds. in road 


1 mile long 


6 in. deep 


7 in. deep 


8 in. deep 


6 


586 2-3 


684 4-9 


782 2-9 


7 


684 4-9 


798 14-27 


912 16-27 


8 


782 2-9 


912 16-27 


1,042 26-27 


9 


880 


1,026 2-3 


1,173 1-3 


10 


977 7-9 


1,140 20-27 


1,303 19-27 


11 


1,075 5-9 


1,254 22-27 


1,434 2-27 


12 


1,173 1-3 


1,368 8-9 


1,564 4-9 


13 


1,271 1-9 


1,482 26-27 


1,694 22-27 


14 


1,368 8-9 


1,597 1-27 


1,825 5-27 


15 


1,466 2-3 


1,711 1-9- 


1,955 5-9 


16 


1,564 4-9 


1,825 5-27 


2,085 25-27 


17 


1,662 2-9 


1,919 7-27 


2,216 8-27 


18 


1,760 


2,053 1-3 


2,346 2-3 


19 


1,857 7-9 


2,167 11-27 


2,477 1-27 


20 


1,955 5-9 


2,281 13-27 


2,607 17-27 




9 in. deep 


10 in. deep 


11 in. deep 


6 


880 


977 7-9 


1,075 5-9 


7 


1,026 2-3 


1,140 20-27 


1,254 22-27 


8 


1,173 1-3 


1,303 19-27 


1,434 2-27 


9 


1,320 


1,466 2-3 


1,613 1-3 


10 


1,466 2-3 


1,629 17-27 


1,792 16-27 


11 


1,613 1-3 


1,792 16-27 


1,971 23-27 


12 


1,760 


1,955 5-9 


2,151 1-9 


13 


1,906 2-3 


2,118 14-27 


2,330 10-27 


14 


2,053 1-3 


2,281 13-27 


2,509 17-2 7 


15 


2,200 


2,444 4-9 


2,688 8-9 


16 


2,346 2-3 


2,607 11-27 


2,868 4-27 


17 


2,493 1-3 


2,770 10-27 


3,047 11-27 


18 


2,640 


2,933 1-3 


3,226 2-3 


19 


2,786 2-3 


3,096 8-27 


3,405 25-27 


20 


2,933 1-3 


3,259 7-27 


3,585 5-27 



Spreading and compacting earth and gravel surfaces. — 

One very important consideration in constructing the 



328 



FAKM DEVELOPMENT 




Figure 215. He:iv>' telfiiid road 
large rock; B, 2 to 3-iiich rock; 
inch sizes; D, fine rock and dust. 



wearing surface of a road is evenness. The materials 
should be so mixed that the wheel tracks will wear 
evenly. To accomplish this result requires that a uniform 
mixture be made and that it be spread evenly and thor- 
oughly compacted. Thus, 
in making a mixture of 
coarse gravel, sand and 
clay, which should be 6 
to 12 inches deep accord- 
ing to the quality of the 
sul)structure and to the re- 
quirements of travel, the 
different materials can be 
put on in layers. The first layer can be put on the sub- 
structure which has been carefully smoothed with the 
road machine ; after having been 
dumped from the wagon or 
scrapers, this .layer may be 
smoothed off and made uniform 
in thickness by the blade of the 
road machine. Another layer 
may then be placed in a similar 
manner, and finally the third 
layer. The ])low or disk harrow 
may now be used to thoroughly 
mix together all of the layers. 

After each plowing or disking, the common field harrow 
should l)e used to level down the surface. F.y repeating 

tlie ])l()wing or disking 
several times, an even mix- 
Figure 217. Transverse section „f tclford tUrC may bc produCCd. If 
road with macadam surface. dcsircd, a thiu layer of 

gravel may then be placed on the surface. Only very 
general directions can be given, since different materials 
must 1)0 mixed in different i)ri )iiorti()iis and each mixture 
mav re(|uire siiecial Irealment. Tn many cases it will 




I'iaure 21G. Section of telford road 
surface. A, large stones laid by hand 
at bottom of road; B, 2 to 3-incli 
rock laid over the large stones; C. 1 
to 2-incli stone; surfacing of small 
pa 1 tides of rock. 



^(),\ns; Axn I'.RincRS 



329 



Wt^7^^'^~ ' ->4-^,^r~- 



I 
i 



Cross Section Roman Tfoati (Appian l^ay). 








Cros* Section French Road (/foman rne-f/iod) 
orey/ous io /77S. 




Cross Section of Tresauguet road, /77S. 



Cross Secf/on Ti//ord road. /SZO. 



V ^' Jii' '^T^lT'mrfSpm^r^-,^. 



4 



Cross Section macadam road, /8f6, 




Cross-Sect/on of modern macadekm fAfassachusefts) road. 
u//th Vsfiaped foundation. 






Cross Sect/on of n^odern maeacfafrt road. 



' £LPf^'OGS.</et. 



Figure 218. Several fnrnis nf stone roads, showing historical types. Pre- 
pare<l liy Maurice O. Eliiridse. 



330 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

be wise to put tlie surfacing material on in two or three 
general layers, thoroughly mixing and smoothing the 
first before adding the next. 

The roller is a very imp(jrtant machine for compact- 
ing the roadway and its use can hardly be overestimated 

, ■_ ^^ 1 in road construction. It 

^^^;^r;^^^^C77::n7??^^^^p should be used after the 

mixing and smoothing is 
completed. both on the 

Figure 219. Macadam road on one side , , , 

of the center of tlie grade and an earlu Upper layer and OU tllC 
track on the other side. ' -r-\ • 

layers beneath. Durmg the 
progress of the work, any large stones which happen to 
1 c in the gravel or clay should be carefully removed or 
broken up. 

MACADAM STONE ROADS 

In preparing the bed for a macadam road, a strip, lo 
feet or more in width, at the center or at the side of the 
center of the crown should first be prepared. This can 
be done in soils free from stone by using the reversible 
road machine, drawing some earth out of the proposed 
roadway and leaving a slight embankment against which 
to place the stone at either side, as shown in Figure 2IT. 

Crushed rock for macadam roads. — The granite, trap 
rock, limestone, sandstone or other hard stone used for 
the lower portion of the macadam roadway should be 
in pieces from 2 to 3 inches in diameter. AVhere softer 
rock, as limestone, can be more cheaply secured it may 
be used for the lower courses, using trap rock or other 
better-wearing rock for the surface. In some cases 
harder and softer rocks may be mixed, though this must 
be done with the greatest care, to prevent une\'en wear- 
ing. If the stone is to be laid 12 inches deep, crushed 
stone of this size can be used for the lower 8 or q inches. 
The next layer of 2 to 3 inches should be of stone about 
half the diameter mentioned. On top of this should be 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



331 



laid broken stone not more than i inch in diameter, and 
into it should be worked the fine oarticles and dust from 
the crusher. Sand or broken limestone may also serve 
as binding materials and be worked into the surface. 

After placing the first la^er of coarse rock it should 
be thoroughly rolled with a heavy roller. A steam roller 
is preferred. Rather than roll the road with too heavy 
a roller, it should be i^one o\'er many times -witli a 




h'iguie 2L'n. Liiyiiis lower covu'se of a telfoixl rnad. 



machine of medium weight. The object is not so much 
to embed the stones into the underlying clay, as to 
work them about so that each stone finds the smallest 
place into which it will fit. Rock which, when crushed 
between the jaws of a rock crusher, breaks into angular 
forms, nearly cubical, may thus be kneaded together 
into a harder crust than rocks which crumble up or do 
not have sharp, hard edges, and rough surfaces. 



j532 farm l)i-:vi£lopi\ient 

The selection of materials for macadam roads.* — Xo one rock can 
be said to be a universally excellent road material. The climatic 
conditions vary so much in different localities, and the volume 
and character of traffic vary so much on different roads, that the 
properties necessary to meet all the requirements can be found 
in no one rock. If the best macadam road be desired, that material 
should be .selected which best meets the conditions of the particular 
road for wliich it is intended. 

In most cases the selection of a material for road making is deter- 
mined more by its cheapness and convenience of location than 
by any physical ])roperties it may possess. But when we consider 
the number of roads all over our covmtry which are bad from 
neglect and from obsolete methods of maintenance that would be 
much improved by the use of any rock, this regard for economy 
is not to be entirely deprecated. At the same time, as a careless 
selection leads to costly and inferior results, too much care can- 
not be used in selecting the proper material when good roads are 
desired at the lowest cost. 

In selecting a road material it is well to consider the agencies 
of destrtiction to roads that have to be met. Among the most 
important are the wearing action of wheels and horses' feet, frost, 
rain, and wind. To find materials which can best withstand these 
agencies under given conditions is the great problem that con- 
fronts the road builder. 

Before going further, it will be well to consider some of the 
physical properties of rock which are important in road building, 
for the value of a road material is dependent in a large measure 
on the degree to which it possesses these properties. There are 
many such properties that affect road bi;ilding, but only three 
need be mentioned here. They are hardness, toughness, and 
cementing or binding power. 

By hardness is meant the power possessed by a rock to resist 
the wearing action caused by the abrasion of wheels and horses' 
feet. Toughness, as understood by road builders, is the adhesion 
between the crystal and fine particles of a rock, which gives it 
power to resist fracture when subjected to the blows of traffic. 
This important property, while distinct from hardness, is yet 
intimately associated with it, and can in a measure make up for 
a deficiency in hardness. Hardness, for instance, would be the 
resistance offered by a rock to the grinding of an emery wheel; 
toughness, the resistance to fracture when struck with a hainmer. 
Cementing or binding power, is the property possessed by the dust 
of a rock to act after wetting as a cement to the coarser fraginents 
composing the road, binding them together and forming a smooth, 
impervious shell over the surface. Such a shell, formed by a rock 
of high cementing value, protects the underlying material from 
wear and acts as a cushion to the blows from horses' feet, and at 
the same time resists the waste of material caused by wind and 
rain, and preserves the foundation by shedding the surface water. 

♦Extracts from a paper on this subject, from the Yearbook, Department of Agri- 
culture, for 1900, by Logan Waller Page. 



ROADS AND I'.RIDCES 333 

Binding power is thus, probably, the most important property to 
be sought for in a road-building rock, as its presence is always 
necessary for the best results. The hardness and toughness of 
the binder surface more than of the rock itself represents the hard- 
ness and toughness of the road, for if the weight of traffic is suffi- 
cient to destroy the bond of cementation of the surface, the stones 
below are soon loosened and forced out of place. When there is 
an absence of binding material, which often occurs when the rock 
is too hard for the traffic to which it is subjected, the road soon 
loosens or ravels. 

Experience shows that a rock possessing all three of the proper- 
ties mentioned in a high degree does not under all conditions make 
a good road material; on the contrary, under certain conditions 
it may be altogether unsuitable. As an illustration of this, if 
a country road or city parkway, where only a light traffic prevails, 
were built of a very hard and tough rock with a high cementing 
value, the cheapest results would not be obtained. Such a rock 
would so effectively resist the wear of a light traffic that the amount 
of fine dust worn off wotild be carried away by wind and rain faster 
than it would be supplied by wear. Consequently, the binder 
supplied by wear would be insufficient, and if not supplied from 
some other source the road would soon go to pieces. The first 
cost of such a rock would in most instances be greater than that 
of a softer one, and the necessary repairs resulting from its use 
would also be very expensive. 

There are some rocks, such as limestones, that are hygroscopic, 
or possess the power of absorbing moisture from the air, and in 
dry climates such rocks are distinctly valuable, as the cementation 
of rock dust is in a large measure dependent for its full develop- 
ment on the presence of water. The degree to which a rock 
absorbs water may also be important, for in cold climates this to 
some extent determines the liability of a rock to fracture by freez- 
ing. It is not so important, however, as the absorptive power 
of the road itself, for if a road holds much water the destruction 
wrought by frost is very great. This trouble is generally due to 
faulty construction rather than to the material. The density or 
weight of a rock is also considered of importance, as the heavier 
the rock the better it stays in place and the better it resists the 
action of wind and rain. 

Rocks belonging to the same species and having the same name, 
such as traps, granites, quartzites, etc., vary almost as much in 
different localities in their physical road-building properties as they 
do from rocks of distinct species. This variation is also true of 
the mineral composition of rocks of the same species, as well as 
in the size and arrangement of their crystals. It is impossible, 
therefore, to classify rocks for road building by simply giving 
their specific names. It can be said, however, that certain species 
of rock possess in common some road-building properties. For 
instance, the trap rocks as a class are hard and tough and usualh^ 
have binding power, and consequently stand heavy traffic well; 
and for this reason they are frequently spoken of as the best rocks 



334 FARM DICVELOPMENT 

Tor road buildinj:;. This, however, is not always true, for numerous 
examples can be shown where trap rock having the above proper- 
ties in the highest degree has failed to give good results on light 
traffic roads. The reason trap rock has gained so much favor with 
road builders is because a large majority of macadain roads in 
our country are built to stand an urban traffic, and the traps stand 
such a traffic better than any other single class of rocks. There 
are, however, other rocks that will stand an urban traffic perfectlv 
well, and there are traps that are not sufficiently hard and tough 
for a suburban or highway traffic. The granites are general!}' 
brittle, and many of them do not bind well, but there are a great 
inany which when used under proper conditions inake excellent 
roads. The felsites are usually very hard and brittle, and many 
have excellent binding power, some varieties being suitable for 
the heaviest macadam traffic. Limestones generally bind well, are 
soft, and frequently hygroscopic. Quartzites are almost alway.s 
very hard, brittle, and have very low binding power. The slates 
are usvially soft, brittle and lack binding power. 

There are but two ways in which the value of a rock as a road 
material can be accurately determined. One way, and beyond 
all doubt the surest, is to build sample roads of all the rocks 
available in a locality, to measure the traffic and wear to which 
they are subjected, and keep an accurate account of the cost both 
of construction and annual repairs for each. By this method 
actual results are obtained, but it has grave and obvious disad- 
vantages. It is very costly, especially so when the results are 
negative, and it requires so great a lapse of time before results are 
obtained that it cannot be considered a practical method when 
macadam roads are first being built in a locality. Ftirther than 
this, results thus obtained are not applicable to other roads and 
materials. Such a method, while excellent in its results, can only 
be adopted by communities which can aft'ord the necessary time 
and money, and is entirely inadeciuate for general use. 

The other method is to make laboratory tests of the physical 
])roperties of available rocks in a locality, study the conditions 
obtaining on the particular road that is to be built and then select 
the material that best suits the conditions. This method has the 
advantages of giving speedy results and of being inexpensive, and 
as far as the results of laboratory tests have been compared with 
the results of actual practice tliey have been found in the majority 
of cases to agree. 

These tests can be made without expense to local authorities, 
as the Office of Public Roads in the Department of Agriculture 
maintains at Washington a complete laboratory in which is tested, 
free of charge, all samples of road materials submitted by any 
officer in charge of public road construction in the United States. 

Placing the layers of macadam roadway. — The second 
laver of macadam is placed on the well-rolled first 



ROADS A.\U UKlUGliS 



335 




layer, , and it in turn is thoroughly rolled. When 
sprinkled on the rock during the rolling process 
helps to slide the surfaces into firm, locked positions. 
AA'hen this second layer has been rolled many times, the 
third layer is applied and the fine binding material is 
gradually added as the roller, by repeated application 
to the particles of stone, crushes and works them into 
position. After adding the fine binding materials, the 
application of water to assist the roller in hardening the 
surface is of special importance. The choice of rock 
for the surface stone is 
\ery important. It 
should l)e both hard and 
capable of cementing. In 
some cases, some tougher 

. . Figure 221. A. crown of nuciiilam riKul : B. 

•^ranitlC and traO rocks outer edge of stone surface; 0-K. level on straight 

>^ " edge in position to compare A witli level on guide 

(^•an K^ mi-v-p>rl -iK'itlT 1in-ip>- Stake; O-M. straight edge in position to test 

Ldn Ue llU.XtU VVUll nine jg^pj ^^ „,„p,. p,,gg ^j j,,,^^^ surface. 

Stone, so that the latter 

may help cement the tougher stones which better en- 
dure the wear of travel. 

To secure the proper depth of each of the three lavers, 
stakes are placed at either side of the line of the road, on 

which are marked the 
height of the crown and 
also the height of each of 
the layers. By occasionally 
m e a s u r i n g across from 
these heights, the desired 
height can be secured at all 
points. Figure 221 shows 
how these measures may 
be taken by means of a straight edge and mason's level. 
The telescope leveling instrument with measuring rod 
may also be used where great accuracy is desired. 

^lacadam roadways must be built sufiiciently thick so 
that the wheels will not break down the stone or punch 




Figure 222. Cross-section of a roclt crusher 
showing the stationary jaw. X. and the oscil- 
lating jaw, K. with rock between. 



33^ 



FARM ])l':Vi:r.OPMENT 



them into the soil beneath. Seven to 9 inches is as thin 
as it is usually practicable to make these roads, and 
for much heavy travel 12 or more inches is necessary. 

Telford roads. — ^^''here stone roads are placed on 
spong}' ground, the}' are sometimes broken by being 
crushed down into the soft earth beneath, l^he telford 
road was designed to better suit this condition. As 
shown in Figures 215, 216 and 217, the first layer is made 
up of stones 6 to 12 inches thick, laid with their broad 




Figure 223. Rock crusher with elevator and screen. The man-size rocks are placed 
ill the hopper, and as they are broken tlie crushed rocks fall into tlie cups and are carried 
up to the cylindrical revolving .screen. The finer particles fall through Uie smaller holes, 
the medium sized crushed stones fall tlirmiKli the larger holes and Uie larger stones run onl 
.it the end of the cylinder. 



surfaces on the l>ottom and their narrow edges tow^ard 
the top. These stones must be placed by hand. Be- 
tween these stones is placed crushed rock, similar to that 
comprising the lower layer in macadam roads, in suf- 
ficient quantity to make a covering several inches thick. 
The next layer and the top layer of fine materials are 
placed in the same manner as in macadam roads. For 
a given amount of material used, there is little advaii- 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



337 




tage ill this method. In no case should tlie upper 
surface of the larger rocks be near the surface. They 
should be covered with several inches of finely crushed 
stone. Particles of stone lying on top of a hard rock 
and struck with the tire of a wagon are subjected to a 
sudden blow, as the hammer strikes a walnut laid on an 
anvil. For this reason 
rock at this point may 
become crushed and 
result in forming a rut. 
Rock crushers. — In 
Figures 222 to 225, in- 
clusive, are shown rock 
crushers. Where the 
rock is to be used in 

large quantities, a Figure 224. cross sectional view of a semi-sta- 

1 • 1 4. 1 11 tionary rock-crushing plant. Wagons are driven 

CrUSlimg plant SnOUla under the four compartments, and the crushed 

, , . , , . stone runs into the wagon box. 

be so devised and de- 
veloped that comparatively little manual work is neces- 
sary. The rock can be loosened from the ledge by 
means of the drill and blast and sometimes further 
broken by hand, and then placed in wheelbarrows 

run on cables, or on 
dump cars, and thus 
carried to the crusher 
by power machinery. 
Some hand work is 
necessary to feed the 
crusher. The crusher, 
propelled by a power- 
ful engine, breaks the 
stone between hard 
steel plates. The 
broken particles of 
stone fall into an ele- 
\ator and are carried to a revolving screen. The finest 




.Stone-crushhi!; plant in operation. 



;^2ii FAK.M DEVLiLUPMENT 

])artick'S fall out through small holes near the end of the 
revolving screen next to the crusher, and the medium- 
sized particles fall from a screen with larger holes, while 
the largest particles (to be used in the bottom of the 
macadam road) pass the largest openings, and run out 
from the lower end of the screen. These are called 
"tailings." Tailings are frequently run through the 
crusher again. The bin under each portion of the screen 
catches the material as assorted in the three sizes. From 
the bins the large, the medium-sized and the finely 
crushed rock are taken by team, preferably in specially 
constructed distributing carts, and put upon the road, or 
if the road is at some distance from the crusher, they are 
transported in flat cars or in boats to the vicinity of the 
road. It is here placed in carts or wagons and carted 
to the roadway and laid as above described. 

Revolving screen and dust jackot. — For small, portable plants 
ordinarily used in coinitry road work, a revolving cylindrical screen 
is used. It is about 8 to 10 feet long and 24 to 30 inches in diame- 
ter, and is usually divided into three sections of equal length. 
When the harder and tougher rocks are to be crushed, the first 
section is punched with holes about f of an inch in diameter, the 
second about if inches in diameter, while the third section is 
punched with holes about 2f inches in diameter. Where lime- 
stone and softer varieties of rock are used, the screen is punched 
with holes abotit as follows: First section, 1 inch in diameter; 
second section, 2 inches, and third section, 3 inches. The latter 
screen separates the rocks into sizes about as follows: f inch down 
to dust, from the first section; f to H inches from the second sec- 
tion; and \h to 2^ inches from the third section. For traps and 
other harder and tougher rocks, the screen, being provided with 
the smaller holes indicated above, separates the rocks into sizes 
about as follows: h inch down to dust from the first section; | to 
1^ inches from the second section; and 14 to 2i inches from the 
third section. The softer rocks are crushed and separated into 
the larger sizes for the reason that they will wear better not being 
so easily broken or crushed by the traffic. The harder and tougher 
rocks have to be crushed smaller, otherwise they will not bind 
or form a solid, compact mass. In the higher classes of macadain 
work, a dust jacket is made so as to cover about three-fourths of 
the area of the first section of the screen. The purpose of the dttst 
jacket is to separate the stone dust from the screenings in order 
that it may be placed last on the top course so as to be used as a 
binder for the screenings. If the dust is not separated from the 



KUADS A\D ISRIDGES 



339 



screenings most of it will sift to the bottom of the first course as 
soon as the screenings are spread, and its value as a binding 
material will be partially lost. 

Cost of crushed rock. — In large quantities trap rock 
could be placed on cars or boats at such shipping points 
as Taylors Falls or Duluth, Minn., at a very low price 
per cubic yard, as could also granite at St. Cloud, Minn. 



the Palisades, New 
Trap rock can be 




Figure 226. Reversible road rollers to lie 
awii by luirses, built to weigli 2 to G tons. 



Large contracts have been filled at 
York, at a very low price per ton. 
carried by boat from 
Duluth to Chicago or Buf- 
falo, sometimes as ballast, 
at a small price per ton. 
For each mile of macadam 
road, 12 feet wide and lo 
inches deep, about 2,000 
cubic yards of rock are 
needed. If the lower 7 
inches are of limestone and the upper 3 inches of trap 
rock, 1,400 cubic yards of limestone and 600 cubic 
yards of trap rock are required. At common prices for 
freight these amounts make the use of stone roads 
impossible except in occasional much-used roads where 
the people have the means for the large expenditure 
required. 

Quantities of crushed rock required for different widths and 
depths. — The following table, which is quoted from the Report 
of the State Commissioner of Public Roads of New Jersey, approx- 
imates the number of tons of rolled stone required to construct 
a mile of road of the various widths and depths. The New Jersey 
Commissioner says in explanation of the table: 

"The basis is 3,000 tons of loose stone or 3,500 tons of com- 
pressed stone for a road one mile long, 16 feet wide and 8 inches 
deep. A road 8 inches deep, when finished, will have required at 
least 10 inches of stone. It should be placed in two layers of 5 
inches each, and each layer rolled down to 4 inches. Then the 
application of the f inch and screenings will bring the road to the 
prescribed depth; for other thicknesses the stone should be placed 
in proportion to the intended finished depths." 



340 FAR.M DEVn^LOPMENT 

Oiuiutilits of cnishcJ rocks for different ividths and dcftlis of roads 

Tons of 



Width in feet 


Depth in inches 


stone per mile 


8 


4 will require 87 5 


8 


6 


1,312 


8 


8 


1,750 


8 


10 


2,187 


8 


12 


2,625 


9 


4 


984 


9 


6 


1,476 


9 


8 


1,968 


9 


10 


2,460 


9 


12 


2,953 


]() 


4 


1,093 


10 


6 


1,640 


10 


8 


2,187 


10 


10 


2,734 


10 


12 


' 3,281 


1 1 


4 


1,203 


11 


6 


1,804 


11 


8 


2,406 


11 


10 


3,007 


11 


12 


3,609 


12 


4 


1,312 


12 


6 


1,968 


12 


8 


2,625 


12 


10 


3,281 


12 


12 


3,937 


13 


4 


1,421 


13 


6 


2,132 


13 


8 


2,843 


13 


10 


3,554 


13 


12 


4,265 


14 


4 


1,531 


14 


6 


2,296 


14 


8 


3,062 


14 


10 


3,828 


14 


12 


4,593 


15 


4 


1,640 


15 


6 


2,460 


15 


8 


3,281 


15 


10 


4,101 


15 


12 


4,921 


16 


4 


1,750 


16 


6 


2,625 


16 


8 


3,500 


16 


10 


4,375 


16 


12 


5,250 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 341 

Quantities of crusiicd rocks for different zvidths and deptlis of roads — 

Continued 









Tons of 


th in feet 


Depth in inches 




stone per mile 


17 


4 


will require 


1,859 


17 


6 


*' 


2,789 


17 


8 


" 


3,718 


17 


10 


" 


4,648 


17 


12 


" 


5,578 


18 


4 


" 


1,968 


18 


6 


" 


2,953 


18 


8 


" 


3,937 


18 


10 


" 


4,921 


18 


12 


" 


5,906 


19 


4 


" 


2,078 


19 


6 


" 


3,117 


19 


8 


" 


4,156 


19 


10 


" 


5,195 


19 


12 


" 


6,234 


20 


4 


" 


2,187 


20 


6 


" 


3,281 


20 


8 


" 


4,375 


20 


10 


" 


5,468 


20 


12 


" 


6,562 



Under some conditions hard roads can best be made 
of paving bricks, granite blocks, cement blocks, flat rocks, 
or cobblestones, and under other conditions even iron 
wagon tracks may be used. 

The discovery of immense quantities of easily mined 
iron, the improvements in iron smelting and in the manu- 
facture of steel plates, together with the cheapened 
transportation, have brought iron rails almost within 
the possibility of large use in road making. It is not 
likely, however, that they will come into prominent use for 
roadways, except possibly across much-traveled bridges, 
where they will receive and endure the wear which would 
cause boards or asphalt to be so rapidly worn out as to 
be more expensive than the steel tracks. One thing 
in favor of steel tracks on roads very much traveled is 
the saving on draft on teams ; there being very little 
friction, the force required to draw the load is very light. 

The following table, according to Prof. King, shows 



342 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



the amount of power in pounds required to draw a load 
on an ordinary farm wagon, on a level road made of each 
of the following materials other than iron: 

( )n cubical block pavement, 28 to 44 lbs. per ton. 

( )n macadam road, 55 to 67 lbs. per ton. 

Un gravel road, 75 to 140 lbs. per ton. 

On plank road, 25 to 44 lbs. per ton. 

On common dirt road, 75 to 224 lbs. per ton. 

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF ROADS 

Repairing common roads. — Much is gained in the 
building of roads if the surface is made uniform through 



IHI 


PSI 




'(!.;:Ai«; 


^^1 





long sections, that the same method of repairing may be 
followed throughout, ^^'hile the most important work 
in road rcf^airing is to attend to the little things, as 
breaks in the surface, yet there is a time when the 
entire surface must be systematically worked over with 
machinery, or the entire surface be reconstructed of new 
materials. The most extensive repair work is that 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 



343 



which is needed to keep earth and gravel roads smooth, 
compacted and round, so that the water will run off into 
the side ditches and the surface be kept hard. Much of 
this work can be done by the reversible machine, in some 
cases followed by the road roller. 

By going over the dirt or gravel road two or more 
times annually an experienced man can keep the center 
of the roadwav free from ruts and so rounded as to be 




Figure 22S. Steam road roller. 



drv and smooth except in times of excessive rainfall. 
There is no portion of our road work more neglected 
than that of repairing. By looking after the roads when 
they are dr}-ing out just after the spring rains, the sur- 
face can be formed up so as to last during the drier part 
of the summer. In the drier portions of the west, 
smoothing up in the early part of the summer season 
will often be sufficient for the entire year, while in sec- 
tions of greater rainfall, together with more travel, the 
road machine should dress the roadway up two or three 



344 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



limes annually, unless, with the king road machine, this 
is done after each rain, making the use of the reversible 
machine unnecessary. 

The split-log drag. — Next in importance to the revers- 
il)Ie road machine, and possibly, in the aggregate, more 
important, is the drag made of the two parts of a split 
log. Like a spade, it is a very simple implement. Figures 

234 and 235 show how it is 
constructed. A log 10 or 12 
inches in diameter and 7 to 
9 feet long is split and fas- 

Fit'uie i;l'!i. li.aii witli tnuk :• ictn ukU- tCUcd tOgCthcr aS sllOWU. 

one side of the center laid with brick, lielow .... 

the brick there must be a layer of gravel or [ [-[q tcaUl IS hltclicd tO thC 
other solid material several inches deep, as 

when wet bricks are crushed Into a clay bed rlTnin onp *iirlp tht^ r^ntpr 

by the wheels of heavy vehicles. (-iiaiii uuc siuc Liic (_cilLCi 

and the drag is drawn at 
an angle. The driver stands on the machine, and l)y 
driving up one side and down the other, he shoves the 
dirt toward the center, if that is needed ; he scrapes down 
high points and fills up ruts, and 1:)oth smooths and com- 
pacts the surface. The 
work is begun early in the 
spring and is done when I'' 
the clods of the dirt are 

hardening after rains, when widrw^y granite biocits very hard sandstone 

'^ ' or blocks niaile of Siuul and cement, about 

frct\r(^] ViQC marip tlip >iiil-- 4 y (! .x 12 inches, uitli (i x l-'-inch surface 

iravei IiaS lliaUL lUC MLI up, lald on a layer of gravel or sand. 

face rough, and at such 

times as teams can best be spared for this work. The 
road will thus be kept relatively smooth throughout the 
year, and will l)ecome better compacted from year to 
year. This device will serve on many gravel roads quite 
as well as on earth roads. This repair work should be 
done at public expense. Each section of road can be ar- 
ranged for under a contract ^vith a farmer. The road 
ofificer can call ihe conlrnctors out by telephone or post- 
card, llnis making repairs when most profitable. 

Wide-tire wagons arc recognized by the laws in some 




ROADS AND I'.RlDCliS 



345 



states as being useful in helping to pack the roadway 
and keep the surface in a smooth, hard condition. The pub- 
lic can well atford to exempt such wagons from taxation. 

Repairing macadam and telford roads. — Here "a stitch 
ni lime sa\es nine" is c\'en more applicable than in the 
maintenance of earth roads. The great advantage in 
these roads lies in the hard, smooth surface, which should 
become still harder and smoother as a result of the wear 
of tra\'el. If slight depressions are at once filled with 
crushed rock similar to that forming the surface of the 
road, these places will soon be worn smooth and uni- 
form with the other por- 
tions of the track. If, how- 
ever, ruts are allowed to 
remain, each passing wheel 
drops into the rut, grind- 
ing to powder more and 
more of the rock, and the deeper it cuts the more forcible 
the blow of the next wdieel. WHiere the rut has 1:)ecome 
deeper and much of the material has been ground to 
powder, the dust should be taken out before filling with 
crushed rock. 

The raveling or loosening of stones from the surface 
of the stone road, to be kicked about by passing teams, 
requires attention, and ofttimes the road roller must be 
again applied to make the surface more firm. Stones 

Tilllllllllllllllllllllljlllllllllllllllljlllllllllllllll 



Figure 231. Roadway paved vvitli flat rocks, 
preferably supported, if on a clay roadbed, 
with a layer of some inches of gravel or sand. 




Fitcnre 232. Itoaduay paved with cobblesto nes laid on gravel makes a very rough, but 
very durable, hard roadway. 



thus loosened should be removed from the surface, lest 
wheels striking them cause them to disturb the roadbed. 
Expensive roads should be patrolled at regular inter- 
A-als by a laborer who understands the keeping of the 
road in repair. By haA'ing a contract with some resident 



34& 



FARM ])f,vi:lopment 



fanner or laborer, this work can usual !}• l)c done in wet 
limes when other work is not pressing, and at sliglit c(ist 
In the coniniunit}'. 

A badly worn stone road needs its surface recon- 
structed.— In Figure 236 is shown a road roller in the 
act of tearing up a macadam roadway. Spikes are 
placed in the roller wheels in such a manner that the 
weight of the machine causes them to sink into the 
hard crust, tliornuglily cruml^ding it. In some cases it 




View of steel rails laid for wagon rdatl. 



is unnecessary to procure new material for the addition 
of a layer of surfacing, but the old surface layer ma}^ 
be thoroughly worked over by using the spiked roller to 
break it up, the common harrow to complete the mixing, 
and the roller to again thoroughly compact and harden 
the surface. In case of badly worn roads it will be found 
necessary to add a new layer a few inches deep, this to 
be placed on top of the surface of the old material after 
it has been thoroughly reworked and compacted. 

Snow roads. — In the Northern states, where there is a 
heavy fall of snow, the problem of making snow roads 



ROADS AXD r.RIDGES 



347 



on Uie right of way, also through adjacent fields, l)ecomes 
an important part of the year's road work. Where the 
\vind makes hard drifts, it is often necessary to shovel 
out the roads with hand shovels. Deep level snow can 
be shoved to the sides and a nice track left by a device 
made of two planks fastened together in A*-shape, and a 
cross plank to hold the wings apart. Uneven tracks, 
full of what in New England are called " thank-you- 
ma'ams," may be smoothed easily by using the reversible 
road machine or a device especially constructed to tear 
off the high places and fill in the low ones. Better than 
either of these methods, however, is the use of the snow 
roller. In many of the New 
England states where the 
snowfall is very heavy the 
roads are rolled and packed 
after every storm and no 
attem]it is made to clear a 
path by plowing. These 
rollers are pushed over the 
roads by a number of teams just as the header is pushed 
through the grain field. 

Bicycle paths. — The popularity of the bicycle as a social 
fad has passed away; but as a vehicle for practical use 

it will continue to 
be an important 
means of convey- 
ance i n m any 
localities. Bicycle 
paths Avill not 
be made in most 
roadways ; hence, 
where practicable. 
the wagon road should be so constructed of hard 
materials that it will make a good bicycle path ; but 
since this is at present generally impracticable, special 




Figuie 234. Tl 




FiSiire 2".". King drag with steel edges Iinlted on the split higs. 



348 



FAKM ])i:Vl£LOP.MENT 



patlis Ilia}' be made for bicycles along many roads. They 
may be placed between the ditch and the wagon track 
on wide grades, or on the bank between the ditch and 
the fence. In some cases it will be necessary to cut and 
fill so as to avoid excessive grades. However, since 
these paths must be made cheaply and bicycle riders 
can walk up an occasional steep place, or by extra exer- 
tion overcome steep places, it is not practicable to 
change the grades as much as in making a track for 

wagons. The path can be 
constructed in a very sim- 
ple manner. In many cases 
the sod should be removed 
and an excavation made a 
few inches deep. Into this 
gravel, or better, coal cin- 
ders, should l)e placed, 
bringing them up even 
Avith the sod. This should 
be thoroughly packed by 
rolling and on top should 

FiKuie 236. Ste;im road roller. Spikes in be plaCCd fiuC gfravcl whicll 
wlieel used to hreal; up macadam surface tliat, i J^ 

resurfaced" ""'"' "''''^' ""* ''™"'^^''- ''""'''* '""* iu tum should bc rollcd, 

making a fine, hard sur- 
face. The line of grade should be evened up so as to 
avoid any sudden depressions or elevations. In cross- 
ing roadways, the bicycle path should be constructed 
with more care, making the hardened surface sufficiently 
deep and substantial so 
that wagons will not cut 
it up. A sidewalk or 
bicycle path 2 feet wide 
outside the ditch along a ,,/;;,-;";f,„-; ;„„;;". '',;;, 'f;,,;;,"^ *'*'""''* '"""' "'" 
country road may be con- 
structed in several ways: d) By smoothing the sod 
and equalizing rough places. (2) By excavating 2 to 4 





UOADS AM) 1{RID(;ES 



349 




inches deep and filling" with gravel or cinders, using" fine 
gravel for the surface. (3) If the soil is sandy, clay 
may be mixed with the sand and a thin layer of fine 
gravel used on top. Placing this walk or path on the 
grade is not usually practical, because teams will dis- 
turb it unless it is protected ])y the ditch bank. 

Lumbermen's ice roads are an important feature of 
modern lumbering operations in cold regions. In north- 
ern Minnesota, for instance, the lumbermen cut out a 
road from the woods where the trees are felled to the 
local sawmill or to the lake or river where the logs are 
to enter the water to be floated to their destination, or 
to the side of the railway 
which is to carry them to 
the lumber mills. These 
roadways are cleared out 
and made fairlv level before 

Figure 238. Bicycle path or walk between 
the soil is frozen, or if not "lieel track and mtch. 

made until freezing, they are 

leveled up by means of snow^. Water is then hauled in 
large tanks and used to sprinkle the surface of the 
runner track, making it solid ice. These roads are made 
sufificientlv wide so that the horses walk inside the 

grooves where the sled 
nmners glide on smooth 
ice. By occasionally going 
over these roads during the 
winter with the sprinkling 

Figure 2:;!i. Crn.is-seetion of a ford across . t c r j.1 

a creek. Ordinary water leyel In a stream tauk, a SUrtaCe OI SUlOOth 

sliowii. Tlie dotteil lines represent foni . 

graded down and surfaced with stone. In ICC IS 
many instances the bed of the stream is » • i 

solid and the stone surfacing is necessary which 
only at the outer edge of the water, as at 

R-A or x-Y. sharp shoes can draw im- 

mense loads of logs at comparatively very small expense 
per thousand feet. 

Fords. — Fords are a necessity in pioneer communities, 
and often remain permanently, both in public highways 




maintained 
the horses 



over 
with 



350 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

ami in farm roachvays. Tlicrc is im place where a little 
intelligent work will count for more than in the proper 
improvement of the roadway by improving the banks 
of a ford across a stream. At the point where the edge 
of the water keeps the earth moist there is nearly always 
a mud hole, or at best deep ruts, through which the 
wheels of a wagon or buggy must pass. The necessary 
lift to bring the wheels out of these ruts often greatly 
limits the load which, can be hauled, for " one link deter- 
mines the strength of the chain." A hard stone surface 
at this point, if properly placed, transfers the ford from 
a dreaded place to one wdiich may be passed in comfort 
and safety. Since it is not wise to build a grade across 
a stream, as it is likely to be Avashed out, it is necessary 
to excavate the bed of the road a foot or less, at the bot- 
tom of the stream. This can l)c filled in with hard lua- 
terials which will hold up the wheels of the passing 
vehicles. Tn many cases coarse gravel will answer ver}' 
well in the middle of the stream, though broken stones 
or even flat stones are better. The excavation can be 
made in warm weather by men and teams working in 
the w^ater. AVhere the road lea\cs the water's edge the 
banks should be cut down so that there is not too steep 
a grade, and the cut should be made about a foot lower 
than the proposed finished grade. This also should 
then be filled with crushed rock, small stones, coarse 
gravel, or other material that will not be easily washed 
about and wqll form a perfectly hard roadbed. Since 
fords are nearly always considered temporary expedi- 
ents, and often are not on the line of legally established 
roadways, road ofificers do not feel free to improve them 
and they are usually left in a very poor condition. A 
" ford bee." wdiere interested neighbors might spend a 
summer day " stoning the ford," might do much good to 
such neglected places. It is an almost unwritten law 
that public ofificers can use some public funds, in aiding 



ROADS Ax\I) liRlDtlES 351 

in these special cases, wliere tlic Idler of the law would 
not allow the road ofiiciaLs to lake ihc entire responsibility 
of the expense of impro\ing- a roadway which has not 
been legally acquired by the public. These ford roads 
should not be too narrow and should be properly marked 
by means of tall posts near the ends, so that in times of 
high water, passers can avoid leaving the line of the 
grade and getting into the soft earth on either side. 

Roadside weeds, if allowed to ripen, are a nuisance to 
the farm and a nuisance to the public, and withal are 
obnoxious to an otherwise beautiful country. The pub- 
lic should encourage the farmer to keep the weeds down. 
As to whether the law should require the farmer to keep 
the roadside reasonabl\- free from obnoxious plants, or 
whether the road officials should be required to look 
after all roads systematically the care of which is not 
assumed by farmers in growing crops upon them, there 
is some question. As a rule, public property should be 
managed in such an exemplary manner that a good 
example is set for the citizens, and the road officials 
should be held responsible for keeping the roadway clean 
of weeds. While the expense would seem considerable, 
systematic care of the roads by public officials would 
doubtless pay. If the public would thoroughly assume 
this responsibility, the roads could be so constructed 
that banks and grades could be rounded down, seeded 
to grasses and then be mowed and kept in neat condition 
by the use of machinery. Since the general advent of 
wire fences, there is far less excuse for weedy roadsides 
than when the old-time zig-zag rail fences were com- 
mon. The use of the mowing machines and a seeding 
of such grasses as Kentucky blue grass and Bermuda 
grass wdll give little chance for weeds. 

Roadside trees and hedges add greatly to the beauty 
of a country, and the public should encourage land- 
owners to plant and care for them. In many instances 



352 FAKAJ DEVELOPMENT 

the public could well afiford to lia\c the farmers plant 
a row of trees several feet from the outer line on the 
road property, giving the farmer the crop from the trees. 

In some countries, as in western (iermany, apples and 
other fruit and nut trees, planted by public officers along 
the roadway, produce crops of fruit which are sold for 
nearly enough to pay for the maintenance of the road- 
way. This might be a practical source of income in 
some sections in the United States. The crop of fruit 
or nuts is usually sold by contract before it is ripe, the 
purchaser harvesting the crop. AA'hen our lands become 
nmch more ^'aIuable, it may be possible for the I'jublic 
to rent the land on the right of way of our broad high- 
ways to such an advantage that the renter will not only 
keep the roadside in a neat manner, but will also help to 
keep the road in repair. In case of earth roads of heavy 
clay, trees should not be planted where they will prevent 
the road surface from drying or cause impassable drifts 
of snow to form in northern climates. 

Relation of farmers to the roads. — The farmer has a 
special interest in the roads adjacent to and leading from 
his farm. In some cases, he can unite with the officials 
in building or draining a road and in making a co-opera- 
ti\e drain which will be very useful to his fields. In many 
cases it is to his interest, as well as to the interest 
of the public, for the farmer to extend his field operations 
into tlie right of way. always leaving sufficient room in 
tlie center of the highway for travel. If the farmer will 
keep the roadside in grass and mow it or pasture it, so 
as to prevent the growth of weeds, the roadway will 
be nmch improved. In some cases, where the road be- 
comes very nuiddy, the grass border is useful for pedes- 
trians, for bicycles and even for wagons and automobiles. 
Traveling this roadside is not conducive to a good crop, 
and people should recognize the interest of a man who 
takes good care of a roadside and not unnecessarily in- 



ROADS AND BRIDGES 353 

jure his crops. In many sections of the country, the 
grasses which are grown do not yield well for more than 
four or five years, when it is necessary to plow the land 
and again sow it to grasses and clovers. In this case, 
the farmer finds it wise to grow one or two crops of 
grain in rotation with the grass after long intervals, so 
that he may again seed the grass down with a crop of 
grain. In many cases our roadways are much wider 
than necessary and common consent should allow the 
farmer to use the land within a rod of the center of the 
road, and in some cases he should be permitted to place 
his fence nearer the center of the roadway. 

Good roads education. — There are many agencies in 
the United States through which a better knowledge of 
roads can be disseminated to the people. The largest 
single agency is the national department of agriculture 
with its office of public roads, which is doing much to 
develop a better sentiment among the people concern- 
ing the need of good roads and a better knowledge of 
how to secure these roads in the different sections of 
the country. The national department is supplemented 
by the experiment stations and colleges of engineering 
of each state. Agricultural high schools, where a large 
number of young men who are to become farmers at- 
tend, are well adapted to giving instruction in this line 
so far as the farmers' interests are concerned. To 
schools of agricultural engineering in our colleges of 
agriculture and mechanic arts, and to general engineer- 
ing schools, however, we must look for trained road 
engineers, superintendents, contractors and builders. 
Traveling farmers' institutes, county fairs and the pub- 
lic schools are agencies through which much can be done 
to disseminate correct ideas on this subject. Practical 
road engineers are rapidly l)nilding up a body of knowl- 
edge, and a literature which is helping to place our 
public road service on a permanent high basis. 



354 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

Good roads literature. — Printed matter in books, also 
the agricultural and daily newspapers, contain much 
information, while bulletins and reports issued by the 
general government, by the state experiment stations 
and by the state iiighway commissions are being multi- 
plied and contain much useful thought on the subject. 

Associations such as national and state good road 
associations, county good road societies, wheelmen's 
and automobile clubs, both national and state, and the 
associations of manufacturers of road machines and 
motor vehicles, all help create an intelligent interest 
in this subject and help promote the idea of building 
good roads. As our great country develops its resources 
it accumulates vast wealth with which it can make 
permanent improvements. Our highways, being per- 
manent in their nature, are in part the gift of one 
generation to the next. In man}^ cases the roads should be 
built and part of the cost left to be ])aid by future users; 
but it is highly important that the people at once begin 
more liberal yearly expenditures in constructing a gen- 
eral system of good roads. The general government, 
the states, the counties, the cities and all the people 
should co-operate in this work. This i:)romises to be 
one of the problems in which the whole people must 
work together in one long, strong effort. The develop- 
ment of country life demands superior transportation 
facilities: with this supplied, country life will continue 
to develop in the United States as nowhere else in 
the world. More and more our annual increment 
of w^ealth should be used in making permanent improve- 
ments, (iood roads, substantial farm homes, barns, rural 
schoolhouses and country churches, next to the soil itself, 
are our permanent country investments. These forms of 
permanent wealth are not receiving their due attention 
as compared with city homes, public buildings and struc- 
tures for trade and commerce. 



CHAPTER XII 

FENCES 

During the last quarter of a century the cost of fenc- 
ing fields has been greatly reduced by the discovery of 
new fence materials. Fences have been devised which 
are much more durable and which will better restrain 
stock of all kinds than any rail, post, board or hedge 
fences. The reduced price of wire and the manifold 
inventions for drawing wire and making it into forms 
suitable for fences, have brought about an iron age in 
fence building. A half century ago most of the American 
farms were fenced with laboriously made stone walls or 
rail fences, the latter sometimes named worm fences, and 
aptly called by foreigners " The Yankee zig-zag." Now 
one can trax-el across the c(^ntinent without seeing a 
newly made fence rail ; and in many places the rock 
crusher is grinding up the stone fences for material 
with which to macadamize the highways. Iron wire 
was one of the great aids in opening up the vast prairies 
of the Mississippi basin for agricultural purposes; it now 
has a very large influence in promoting the live stock 
and general agricultural interests. Barbed wires were 
invented at the proper time to enable the farmers to 
subdue the great prairies on a scale of extensive farm- 
ing. Smooth-woven wire has now taken such a prac- 
tical form and is obtainable at such reasonable prices 
that more comprehensive field and farm management, 
with live stock as a leading feature, is being inaugurated 
as the permanent system of management on American 
farms. Xowhere is there such an opportunity for carry- 
ing out the broad principles of scientific farm manage- 
ment as on American farms, and nowhere else is 

355 



356 FARM DEVELOPMENT 

llierc such a comprehensive plan of combined farming 
ami liomemaking-. nowhere else such a great, rising race 
of farmers. The wire fence stands with the modern rail- 
way, the plow, the cultivator, the reaper and the thresher 
as a large factor in promoting our extensive and pros- 
perous agriculture and the unsurpassed country life of 
our American family farms. 

The great variety of materials and uses, also the vary- 
ing conditions under which fences are built, give the 
farmer the opportunity to exercise considerable ingenuity 
in devising structures to best meet his needs. The fence 
should efficiently do its work, be easily kept in repair, 
and economical of construction, enduring if may be, 
good to look upon or at least not conspicuously offensive 
to the eye. 

A X B C _J> 



^° "OBS J 20 RODS 

O R 



Figure 240. Fence line pUiceil in the wrung place. 

The first step in building a fence is to secure the exact 
location desired throughout the entire line of the fence. 
Where practicable, the two points where the fence is to 
end should be located with care, and the fence line laid 
out on a line between them. Thus, in Figure 240, the 
corners of the farm, A and D, should be first established 
and the fence line staked off in a straight line between. 
If first in fencing field O a slight error is made in plac- 
ing the corner at B. and the fence line thus established 
is projected forward in a straight line to D, the error 
will have been multiplied, placing one-eighth of an acre 
on the wrong side of the fence. 

Tf a post and wire fence is to be built the planting 
and bracing of corner and end posts is a matter of most 
careful consideration. If the wires, or ribbons of wires, 



FENCES 



157 



can l)c attached to an unyielding post at the corner, 
they do not sag. and they serve to hold all the other 
posts in line. These end posts need to be planted 
deeply in the ground and thoroughly anchored b}' cross 
pieces fastened to their bottoms and braced, as with a 
rather long timber, lo to 14 feet, reaching some distance 
along the line of the fence, and placed at not too wide 




Figure 241. Driving sluirpened fence posts witli sledge and gtand. 

an angle with the horizontal, so as to avoid pulling the 
corner posts out of the ground. 

The line posts for wire need not be placed so deep in 
the ground nor set so firmly as is necessary in the case 
of wooden fences. This is particularly true in the case 
of barbed wire, since animals do not rub against the 
wires so nnich as acfainst wooden fences. The winds do 



358 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



not blow Avire fences down, and animals rnnning into 
them do not press against a single post, but the strain is 
equalized among several along the line. Reel devices 
are very useful in distributing and rolling up a single 
strand of barbed wire, and rolls of wire fence ribbons. 
Setting posts. — The old art of digging post holes with 
a spade, setting the j^osts in line and tamping the re- 
turned earth 
solidly about 
them is hard 
work. But even 
here there is 
opportunity for 
system in cut- 
ting the sod, in 
pulverizing the 
soil in the bot- 
tom of the hole, 
and in lifting out 
the spadefuls of 
earth. Some 
men will quickly 
dig a post hole 
w ith half the 
expenditure o f 
energy required 
by another who 
has not learned how to handle the spade to the best 
advantage. It is difficult to give instructions without a 
spade and a place to make a post hole. Post-hole augers 
and some other forni of im])]ements for digging post 
holes save much lal)or. In many cases the best way to 
set posts is to sharpen them with a sharp ax, dig the 
holes one spade length deep and then drive the posts 
with a hea\\v maul or sledge. The workman can stand in 
the back end of a wagon, or better, on an especially con- 




. Device t'cir pullint; feme posts uilh the aid of a team. 



FENCES 



359 





'lytUkWUkniknyeig 






structed bench, and drive the posts to a depth of 2 or 
25^' feet. Especially where the fence is temporary is it 
worth while to sharpen the posts that they may thus 
easily be driven when set in the new location. Where 
the post is not sharpened it is important that the earth 
l)e tamped very firmly about the bottom of the post and 
also at the top of the hole so that it will be held firmly. 
Pulling posts with a horse, chain and simple lever avoids 
heavy lifting. (See Figure 242.) With suitable tools 
for Avith draw- 
ing or breaking 
the staples, 
with a handy 
device for roll- 
ing u p the 
wires and again 
unrolling them 
along the new 
line, and with 
gooti wire stretchers, any wire fences can be moved at 
a cost of onlv a few cents' worth of labor per rod 

Repairing fences. — An occasional inspection of wire 
fences with hammer, nails, staples, small pieces of wire. 

and wire 
stretcher a t 
hand will avoid 
loss from in- 
jury to fences, 
injury to crops 
and often avoid 
trouble with 
neighbors, and sometimes prevent great injury to 
animals. A fence is like any other structure : it is likely 
to get out of repair, and when in such condition it should 
be repaired at once, as nowhere else does the " stitch in 
time save nine " to better advantage. 



SSSSZBBiBS 

Figure :i4:;. Wuvui 



: for horses, eattle, sheep auti sn-ine 





«i 


























HBIGHT 




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_^J.i3L- ■ ■ • • 4siNCHfc);J 


































V 


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T' 


B 




, i 
























' 


' 


' 


J. 


J 


































■ ' 


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1- 
























' 


' 


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' ' 


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. * 


















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" 




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■ 


■ 


' ( ■ 




T. 


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flSrtKiCKS* 




5«s*r 


-as^K 






b?s 


b:=! 


■^^ 


^ 


UX.J 


■^2 


[^ 



Figure 244. Woven ribbon with only one barhed wire above. 



36o 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 




Barbed wire fences. — For cattle, sheep and swine, 
barbed wire strung on posts from one to two rods apiart 
makes a cheap and most eiTective fence, and for very 
large pastures barbed wire is fairly well suited for re- 
taining horses. There has been a great deal of criticism 
of barbed wire fences, the larger part of which is un- 
called for. Many critics who have seen only the senti- 
mental phase of the question have insisted that it is 
cruel to inclose animals by a fence 
which is liable, accidentally, to make 
wounds and cause pain. Barbed wire 
fences may oc- 
casionally in- 
jure horses so 
that they become 
less salable, and 
sometimes even 

Figure 24"i Hcig mil i itfle fence, 26-iiicli smooth niie hog Crlpplc t h C Ul 
rihbon. with three harlied wires almve. , * ^ 

Barbs often 
slightly injure the skin of cattle, reducing its value 
for leather. But when we put against these objections 
the immense saving in the cost of barbed wire fencing 
as compared with other forms of fences, the smaller 
expense of kee])ing them in repair and their greater 
effectiveness over most other kinds c^f fences in restrain- 
ing animals, the barbed wire has the advantage for many 
purposes. It is safe to say that more animals are in- 
jured and suffer from breaking through wooden fences 
and gaining access to crops of grain or very succulent 
crops ; from getting out of place and being chased by 
dogs, than from any injuries or cuts due to barbed wire 
cuts. AVitli properly built wire fences stock <|uietly 
submit to their confinement and feed much more con- 
tentedly and profitably than when they are surrounded 
by fences which they are constantly trying to rub down 
or climb over. 



FENCES 



361 



Woven wire fences are manufactured by many firms 
and sold through their local dealers in large rolls of 20, 
30 and 40 rods. Smooth, and also barbed, wire fences 
may be made up for cattle or horses alone, in which 
case the lower wire is a foot or more from the ground ; 
while fences reaching to the ground are suitable for 
restraining hogs and sheep as well as the larger animals. 
Barbed and smooth wires may be combined, and in many 
cases this is an economical arrangement, especially in 
making fences which are to restrain both large and small 
animals. With barbed wire, smooth wire, or even with 
smooth and barbed combined, fences may be woven at 
the time it is tacked on to the posts by machinery devised 
for that purpose. 

The three-wire barbed fence (Figure 248) is one of 
the large factors in American cattle raising. It costs 
about ten cents per rod for iron, ten cents for posts and 
a few cents for labor. The wires last more than a 





No. 7 



11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 



Figure 240. Actual size of wires by numljers, 7 to 20. 



quarter of a century, and good posts more than ten 
years. The annual expense for repairs is very light. 
The interest account and the maintenance account are 
A'ery small, and if occasionally inspected and repaired, 
this fence is very secure for the larger animals. The 
posts are usually sharpened and driven with a heavy 
sledge in the hands of a man standing on a sledge stool. 
Wooden fences. — Board fences were very much in use 
a few decades ago, but are now very rapidly giving way 
to wire. Fences made of 6-inch pine boards are very 
satisfactory when new, but the boards become brittle 
and are not safe. Tight board fences are entirely too 



2,G2 



FARM DI'A'KLOPAIENT 




i-:^*:l, 









expensive for fencing, unless in exceptional situations. 
as about small paddocks near the barns, and c\cn here 
heavy woven wire is better, except where tight fences 
are especially needed to ser\-e as protection from cold 
winds. Rails and poles in the place of boards serve the 
purpose of the pioneer with whom the poles are some- 
times more easily 
procured than the 
money with which to 
purchase wire. Thus, 
tamarack poles often 
serve a good purpose 
in wooded districts, as 
do also poles from the 
quickly grown willow 
and other trees in the 
prairie regions. Pmt 
fences made in this 
wa^- are short lived, 
and. at the best, are 
not nearly so safe as 
are Avire fences. The 
old-fashioned rail fences are made up in a number of dif- 
ferent ways, but cannot be classed as very satisfactory 
fences. Thev are often blown down by heavy winds, are 
rubbed down by cattle, require considerable labor to 
keep them in repair, and are not very durable. 

Hedge fences have been much used in mild climates, 
as in England and in some of the middle and Southern 
states, but they have almost dropped out of use for field 
fences, and wire is supplanting them. They add much 
to the beauty of the landscape if kept in repair and 
travelers think they add much to the country, but they 
are usually poor field fences. Where a portion of a hedge 
dies out animals can pass through the gap ; besides, gaps 
soon make a fence look ragged and weak. Very many 







Figure 247. Anchoring fence ribbon bclxvt 
liikes it possible to use fewer posts. 



FENCES 



363 



(tf the hedges in beautiful England, where they are valued 
for their landscape effect, are mere weeds encumbering 
the ground. Either a wire fence must be placed along- 
side them, or else the fence must be used in a patched- 
up way that makes it anything but efficient in restrain- 
ing animals and far short of attractive. Besides, in the 
end, they are nearly always expensive, since the labor 
of caring for them is considerable. In many cases part 
of the plants die out and form harbors for weeds. They 



24 FT. - - 




;i^^i§$^;$t».^-».-»yKNi$^;^' $^^^M ^^^^xWy^i^i^;;^ 



^^^:y»»g:»^^?^^^»^»^:»:»^t^j^^-- 



FiKuie 24S. TliiTC-uiie li.nbeil c-.iltle fence. 

require some land, and take some fertility from the ad- 
joining fields into which the}- spread their roots. TTedges 
should be used much more for ornament on the farm- 
stead, but less for field fences, especially less for fencing 
against live stock. Many theoretical propositions have 
been presented to the American farmers by designing 
hedge-fence companies and nurserymen who desire to 
sell hedge plants; but nothing practical comes out of 
these propositions. A hedge costs more to plant and 
care for until large enough to serve as a fence than the 



3^>4 



FARM 1)i:\I':li i|'.\ii:i\C 



])ficc i>|" a wire fence. I'.csides, a wire leiiee is neces- 
sary to protect the hedge and restrain the animals while 
the hedge is passing through the first few years of its 
g"rowth. There are particular places wdiere a hedge is 
useful as an ornament as well as to serve as a fence, 
and the ]:)urposes of ornamentation may properly be 

combined \vith the useful about 
the farmstead. In some cases 
growing willows, or other 
trees, may serve as posts to 
Avhich wire fencing may be at- 
tached, thus in part ser\'ing as 
a hedge. Rut, as a rule, the 
better way is to purchase 
posts or grow the posts in the 
forest plantation in the farm- 
stead or on a separate part of 
the farm, or use reinforced 
cement posts, and then make 
sim]5]e post and wire fences. 

Stone fences w^ere much 
used in the earlier times to 
ipch^se those fields which sup- 
plied an abundance of this 
kind of fencing material, but 
unless the stones are of such 
form and size that they can be 
so laid that the fence can stand 
long without repairing, this kind of fence is expensive 
to construct and costly to keep in repair. As a rule, it 
is economy, even where stones are abundant, to collect 
them into piles neatly laid up, and use posts and wire 
for fences. Unless stones are very abundant on the 
farm, or in the neighborhood, there will be other and 
more practical uses for them. 

Paddock fences. — A\'itliin the farmstead special fences 




FiUiiie 24il. Till)! f(ii- splioiiig wires. 



FRNCICS 365 

.'ire needed. Slruiiger fences are required (or keepiiiL;' 
animals closely confined than for keeping them on a 
larger range. Barbed wire is objectionable for the pad- 
dock fences, because in the small lots where many 
animals may be confined there is danger of the younger, 
weaker or more timid animals being crowded into the 
fence and injured. Until recently the problem of pad- 
dock fences was a hard one. but the advent of heavy 
woven wire ofifers a complete and satisfactory solution. 
Ribbons made of wire of medium weight, and of light 
poultry wire, may be purchased nowadays at very rea- 
sonable prices. It is not wise to use wire of too small 
a diameter in paddock fences, or even for poultry yards, 
because small wires sooner rust so as to break. Properly 
galvanized wire is more durable than painted wire. 
Heavy woven wire ribbons are sold which will not easily 
be rubbed down by strong cattle when closely confined. 

Fences made by nailing boards horizontally on posts, 
or running stringers on the posts and nailing on the 
boards in a vertical position, are expensive and not very 
durable. However, if no other protection from winds 
can be afiforded in a yard, the tight board fence has an 
important use. In stony sections the exposed side of 
the lot may be protected by a stone wall. Such walls are 
much more satisfactory if they are built up with mortar, 
but a very good wall may be built without mortar if the 
base stones are well laid and the wall built high enough 
to keep the animals from knocking ofif the top stones. 

Woven wire for paddock fences should not only be 
higher and heavier than that used for field fences, but 
the horizontal and vertical wires should both be woven 
closely together. A good plan is to have the strands 
woven the same as poultry fence, only using heavier 
material. Strong, durable posts should be firmly set not 
over 16 feet apart, and great care must be exercised to get 
the corner and gate posts securely anchored and braced. 



366 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



Hurdles or portable fences are useful iu caring for 
small tlocks of sheep, young pigs, calves or young chicks 



^■:W^ 


1 


^^^ 


^^Hi 


^^i^sfieirtXiiilB^: 


^jpaiiiwHteF^'"'''"^-- ■*''^'*-i*[rtPP?*i'"^i^ 1 '■, »: 1 


^ 




^'^ppp' 







Figure 250. Light portable fence used in pasturing slieep. One piece I x li and 
three 1 x 4. 16 feet long, for horizontal b.iis: three pieces 1 x 4, 42 inches long, for up- 
rights; one piece 1 x G, 42 inches lung, and two 1 x 4. 60 inches long, for liraces. 

when on the pasture, llx' means of hurdles the animals 
may be moved frequently, giving them a constant supply 
of fresh feed. Hurdles can be made of boards, wires 




Figure 2,51. A beautiful experiment at Minnesota Agricultural College. -Niunerou^ 
well-trimmed hedges growing side hy side. 

and boards, or wires and slats, some form of device for 
liolding the hurdle up being adapted to each kind of 
hurdle. Where areas to be fenced are of considerable 
size, movable barbed wire or woven wire fencing to be 



FENCES 



3^V 



attached to posts, is cheap and easily adapted to the 
purpose. Pastures of annual crops, or shift pastures, as 
pasturing" the stubble after a crop of grain, may be sur- 
rounded by temporary fences. The cost of moving 
fences is often less than the loss sustained bv allowing 
stock to remain in pastures which are short of feed 



■ ^' 'lut- 




\^S^^^ 




. .'^iHh^sMM^ 


'.*■ 


^^"•'•i'- ''*Wp^^^ft. 


W 


m r-.f'rW^ 


w6l vjyil 




■ '^g^: 




. -nMsm.-' 




^^^SKmKMKmSk. 



li^uit 2.j2. Buckthorn hedge heside roadway. 



while in the adjoining field some green crop is going 
to waste. 

Ornamental fences. — On the farm, fences designed to 
be ornamental should be rather plain and substantial, 
not necessarily expensive, and should be of a kind easily 
kept in repair. Iron fencing of a plain, strong design 
makes a fence pleasing to the eye and quite durable. 



368 



ARM IH'A'I'.l.ol'MICNl' 



Siiiiic ''I the liMiii^ m| -,iiiiniili \\ii\cii Wire Iciuini; an- 
so maik' up as In \)c \uvy inconspicuous, a rcallv ex- 
cellent feature, as liea\\' fences hide tlic l)eautv of the 
trees, shrubs and open lawn. W'ire-and-picket fencing' 
is usually not so desirable, as it is hea\y and difficult to 
keep from sa,i.^',i;'in,L;". The slats add no beauty and the 
fence is not as durable nor has it as ]iretty an etTect 
as a fence of smooth g'ah'anized wire. Strongly built 
wo\-en wire fences serve to run vines on, often with 




l--i"Ui( 



^il tli 



iiHiI,] |,,r iiwkiiiK prists 7 fcft liiiii;. r, x " inches at llie boltiim and 
•■ .^ •. ... .... ...J-. mIsii niuilai lii.\. shn\rl. lamijiii;; i-ul an.l u.iiiSf f.ii levelini;' Uio first 

la.vei' of tamped nmilai' prepaialmy In puitiiii; in llie first two wire cables; a. ends; 
li. dividing bloclis: .■. divisi.in hnards; ,1. ..utei tie; e. leveler. 15, ('. I), pallets each 
uitli five posts, 7 feet 'i ini-lies by .1 inches and ."i inches liy :'. inches, from which the 
molds have been lifted as U'fl In cuie. K. iiallet with five posts. 7 feet li inches by il 
inches and (1 inches liy 4 inclics. .Vl(dils for posts of different lengths ami diameters 
may be used on tli,' same padets: tlius. posts C feet long. 1 x 4 indies. M x :i inches: 
li..sts S feel, i; X C inciies. li x 4 inches, etc. (.\fter I'. I.. Wormlev. Farmeis' Bill., 
V S. I)f|it. .\.m-. ) 



most allracti\e effect. \\ here stones are abundant and 
cm be built into a fence, a \'cry ]H-etty effect can be pro- 
duced about a lawn, es|)eciallv as thev ser^•e to train 
\ irgini.a creepers or other \ines. A\diere a retain- 
ing wall and fence combined are needed, a hand- 
some fence can be ])ro(luced bv combining these fea- 
tures. In some cases, a wire fence can be added above 
to reinlorce the low stone wall, much reducing the ex- 
pense and \et combining beaut \' and utilitv. Too little 
h.as lieen done to embellish the immediate surroundings" 
of the axerage American farm home. There is no part 



FENCES 



369 



of the United States, unless in those sections in which 
the rainfall is too deficient, that we do not have shrubs 
suitable for making a low handsome hedge. The Buck- 
thorn, for example, endures the severest winters of the 
northern parts of Minnesota and Dakota. The experi- 
ment farms of Brandon and Indian Head, Canada, North 
of Dakota and Montana, have abundantly demonstrated 
that beautiful hedges can be sfrown far north and far 




Figure 234. A, 7-foot concrete post, 6x6 throughout; B, 7-foot, 6 x 6 at bottom 
and 6 X 3 at top. hole iieai tei. lor wire loop to hold staple strip, cross-sections of ends 
of B showing positions of twisted wire reinforcements; C, 7-foot, 6 x 6 at hottom. 6x3 
at top, corners rounded ; D, 7-foot, 5 x 5 at bottom. .5 x 3 at top, cross-sections of ends 
of D; E, corner post molded in place, underground part 11 x 11, aliove ground part 
8 X 8 at bottom and 7 x 7 at top. length S feet, holes near top in both directions, 
cross-section of E at ground line showing four two-wire cables; F. cross-.sectiou of 
corner post showing lugs molded to hold braces; also wire or steel rod reiuforccment. 

out into the dry plains country. As we proceed south- 
ward, the number that are hardy is increased. Among 
those plants making a pretty and at the same time dur- 
able hedge are the Buckthorn, Buffaloberry, Red Cedar, 



2>7o 



FARM DEVKLOPMENT 



White Cedar or Arbor Vitae, Russian ^lulberry and 
many others equally pretty, but less practical and hardy. 
Wooden ornamental fences still have their place, 
though much restricted l^y the use of the cheaper, more 
durable wire fences now available for inclosing lawns. 
There is hardly an excuse remaining for inclosing coun- 
try lawns, school 
grounds, church yards 
or cemeteries with a 
board fence, which will 
rapidly decay, and at 
best is not a thing of 
beauty. Plain woven- 
vvire fencing can be 
used for most of these 
fencesi. Where it is 
desirable to obscure 
from view objection- 
able features this can be 
done by training Vir- 




c '!"> ( oiiiei post built 111 place with base o-]]i]^ CreeiJCrS, 
t.imped in bole mlaiRetl at biiftcini .iiid cement brace '^ 1 ' 



English 
or 



set with enlarged end molded in place. Both post j\'\' WllCl ""raDCS 

and brace are reinforced with double twisted wires. - ' SI' 

Other vines on fences. 
In making a landscape by means of trees, sliru1)s. lawn 
grasses and other li^•ing forms, the modern wire fence 
enables us to haA-e an inclosure without obstructing the 
view, or by growing vines on it we can frame the picture 
or otherwise make it ornamental. (See Figures 251-252.) 
Poultry fences. — For inclosing yards or small fields 
for poultry, woven wire is by far the most satisfactory 
of all forms of fencing. In some places, as between 
small inclosures, it is necessary to place boards at the 
bottom to a height of 2 feet to prevent cocks from fight- 
ing. For outside fences, bottom boards are not neces- 
sary, and rather strong woven-wire fencing, with I or 2- 
inch mesh, may be used. For temporary purposes light 



FENCES 



37'i 



poultry fencing- can 1)e utilized, though it is not sub- 
stantial and is not so easily moved to new posts as the 
ribbons of heavier wire. The latter kind of fencing is 
more easily kept from sagging and is more durable. 
The boards at the bottom of the fence can easily be 
renewed when too much decayed to be of further use. 
Sections of woven wire attached to rectangular frames, 
say 2 bv 6 feet, made up like hurdles, are exceedingly 
useful in caring for broods of young chicks which have 
been hatched in incubators and are raised in artificial 




Fi^iiie J-",(j. Filliiia tlie iii"kl with oi 
Hole left for the cml of the luaci' mold. 



have been pkiL-ed inside. 



brooders. Some of these ma}' Ijc used as covers of small 
yards to inclose hens with their broods. 

Posts. — Few posts have been used of other material 
than wood, but there is a rising demand for a more dur- 
able material. AMiile wooden posts do not last many 
years, they have been so much cheaper than either iron 
posts or cement posts that their use has generally been 
the most economical. For lawn fences, iron or cement are 
in some cases more practical than wood, and in a few 
cases stone may be utili/^ed to advantage. AMiite oak, 



3/2 



FARM DKVKLOP.MENT 



white cedar aiul red cedar are prized because they will 
hist many years, while posts of such species of trees as 
tamarack, basswood and white willow last only a few 




Figure 257. A, cement post; B, 
wooden stay on face of post to 
which wires are stapled; C, block set 
in groove in face of post to hold stay 
from being pushed up or down. I). 
hole near top of post to receive wire 
holding upper end of stay firmly in 
place; E and F. wires about post to 
hold stay in place. Woven ribbon 
at base. Barbed wires above. 




Figure 238. Wire loops 
sticking out of the face 
of the posts. Xo. 7 gal- 
vanized wire is suitable. 
They can be placed ver- 
tical or horizontal, ow- 
ing to method of fasten- 
ing wire fencing to them. 



years. AA^ooden posts are so easily replaced in wire 
fences and the top is still useful for fuel, that very poor 
wood ill tlic end is not ^•erv expensive. 



FENCES 



373 




Figure 259. C'emeut corner post carrying an iron gate. 



Cement posts. — Posts made of cement and reinforced 
by steel are destined to rise in favor with the increase in 
the price of wooden posts. Especially for end posts of 
permanent fences will it pay to use reinforced cement, 
and in many 
permanent 
fences line 
posts of these 
materials are 
in the end more 
profitable than 
posts of wood 
or other ma- 
terial. If well 
made, they 
grow strong 
with age ; the 
cement not only increasing in strength with age, but 
also protecting the steel from rusting. Line posts are 
ordinarily quite strong enough if reinforced by placing 
in each corner a cable of two wires, twisted together, of 
the same size as that used in double barbed wire, No. ii 
or No. 12, or even ordinary new l^arbed wire may be 

use d, weighing 
rather less than 
two pounds for 
the four cables. 

Unless extra 
strength is re- 
quired a suitable 
size for line posts 
is 6x6 or 5x7 
inches at the base, 
and in either case 

Figure 2fifl. Cement corner post. B, and brace post. A, 
witli (liagoa:il otnieiit cross biaces constructed in place. "? v (S inrlipc: ni fli(a 
Forms sliould remain in place for at least a week, O "^ ^ iiiv..nc3 clL iiic 




374 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



top and 7 feet long;. 
AA'here strong posts are 
required the base can 
be made 6x8 inches 
and the tops 3 by 6. 
Shorter and longer 
posts, also with lesser 
or greater diameter, 
will fit particular con- 
diti<^ns. AVith cement 
costing $2 per barrel, 
sand and gravel 50 
cents per cubic yard, 
wire cable 6 cents per 
post, and labor 20 
cents per hour, and 
allowing for cost of molds and miscellaneous expenses, 
the cost of the smaller of these posts should be rather 
more than 25 cents and the larger ones about 35 cents 
apiece. Corner posts 6 to 8 inches s(|uare, with two 
more wire cables, or rods, in the corners, will cost two to 
five times as much as line posts, and 4 x 4 or 4 x 6-inch 
rv2 




Figure 2(11. Stretching ;) ribbon of woven uiie 
to attucli it to a corner post. 




Figure 2(i2. Cement corner posts <iud braces molded in phice. 



FENCES 



375 




Cement comer post ami brae 



ill matle in place, for woven wire fence. 



braces, 8 to lo feet long, will cost 30 to 50 cents apiece. 
Cement corner posts with a large lower end, as in Figure 
255, are very awkward to r-emove when broken and the 
amount of cement required is large. Made with straight 
sides, or with rough and slight!}' enlarged lower end, 
corner posts will serve their purpose quite as well and 




Kiguie Mi. Well-braced cement coiner post and cement line posts. 



3/6 



FARM Di:VELOPMENT 




Figure lir.n. One of the very best systems of 
bracing wuuden cni.1 posts. 



will cost less. Cement posts, unlike cement blocks, can- 
not well be made in a machine and carried aside on 

panels, because the 
pallets bend and the 
posts crack, perhaps 
only sufficient to al- 
low air in to rust the 
reinforcing" wires. The 
pallets for line fences 
should remain in place 
until the post hardens, 
the sides and ends of 
the forms to be used in 
succession on station- 
ary bases. Narrow, three-cornered strips of wood are 
sometimes laid lengthwise in the corners of the mold, 
so as to round the corners of the post, but as the down- 
ward face of the post is the one to which the wire fenc- 
ing is attached 
this is not very 
important. The 
upper corners 
can be rounded 
with a trowel, 
if the mixture 
is not too wet. 
Painting the 
insides of the 
m olds with 
soap is often 
wise. Four 
inches from the 

top of the post, make a transverse groove in the back 
of the post near its top to hold in place a wire 
which binds a staple board to the post ; or, 8 inches 
below the top. lay horizontally a corn cob, a piece of 




I'Mgure 206. Poor metliod of bracing corner posts. 



FENCES 



377 



sumach wood, with hirge pilli. or other material through 
which a wire cau be punched, or a ])iece of soft wood, 
which can be driven out, and thus provide a hole 
through the center of the post for the stay binder. (See 
Figure 254.) 

Wire loops can also be inserted in the surface of the 
finished post before it hardens, to serve as attachments 
for the fencing. (See Figure 258.) In molding the 
posts, fill in mortar and work, or tamp, and dress 
down with the deep leveler shown in Figure 253. 




Figure 207. Good metliod of bracing wooden corner posts 



The apparatus used in making cement posts is sim- 
ple and inexpensive, as shown in Figure 253, A, B, C, 
D and E. 

Posts can be made of cement and any sharp, clean 
sand in the proportion of one to three. But where 
gravel about one-half inch in diameter, or broken stone 
of the same size is used, the posts will be both stronger 
and cheaper, using one part cement, two and one-half 



378 



FAU.M i)i:\'i:i,()r.\rENT 




l^arls sand and fi-rc 
parts (jraz'cl or stone. 
The cement and other 
m a t e r i a 1 s can be 
measured l:)y means 
of bottomless boxes 
set in the mortar box. 
The cement and sand 
should be thoroug^hly 
mixed dry: a "crater" 
should be made in the 
pile, the water poured 
in. the edges of the 
crater worked into the 
water and then the 
Fijnire26s. w h o 1 c workcd and 

shoveled o\'er until 
thorou,q"hly mixed. The mortar can then be spread out 
level and the ,qra\el or crushed stone can be spread on 
evenly and the whole 
well mixed hv shovelino^ 
over until uniform. 
Usiui^' a " d r y m i x," 
which "must be tamped 
for some time before 
water shows on the sur- 
face," is not so 'satisfac- 
tory as a " moist mix " 
which " requires only a 
little tampingf to brino' 
moisture to its surface," 
or a " wet mix." which 
" can be poured " and " only needs to be worked about till 
it fills all crevasses." The reinforcino; wires are retained 
in position with some difificulty if a too dry mix is used, 
and are liable to be forced so close to the corners that 




Figure 269. 



FENCES 



379 




sHg"ht chipping" or transverse checking- of the p<ist will 
cause them to be exposed. Some experimenting" will be 
necessary to learn the best proportions and the best man- 
ner of mixing each class of materials found available 
in a given neighborhood. 

Lay, in each of the two lower corners, a cable of two 
wires, twisted together and nearly as long as the post, less 
than an inch from the sides and less than an inch fron"i the 
face of the post. xA.gain 
fill in and work or 
tamp, and then dress 
down with the shallow 
leveler, similar to E 
but shallower, to about 
three-quarters of an 
inch from the top. 
Place the other two 
cables in the upper cor- 
ner, less than an inch Figure 270. 
from the sides. Add the 

upper layer, dressing it down level with the side boards. 
Leave the forms in ]>lace for two davs to allow 
the mortar to set, when the sides and ends can be 

drawn to serve again 
on other pallets, using 
care not to disturb the 
posts. The dividing 
strips between the 
posts should remain a 
week, as r e m o v i n g 
them earlier disturbs 
the posts. The posts 
should lay several 
weeks, or better, some 
months, without dis- 
turbance. Frequent 




38o 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



wetting" down is nsefnl to secure the best curing. In 
placing the posts on the wagon, care should be used not 
to crack them so as to let air in to cause the wires to 
rust off. 

Corner posts can usually best be made in place. The 
post hole should be rather large and deep, the bottom 




Figure 272. Commnn three-board slide gate in three-barbed wire fence. Tliis is the 
most widely used Ameiican cattle fence and gate. 

larger than the upper end, and a hole lo or more feet 
away should be made for the foot of the brace. The 
mold of the post and the mold of the Ijrace should be 
put in place, and the concrete placed in them and worked 




Figure 27". Rustic and .serviceable pioneer gate. 

down or tamped. Some care will be needed to keep the 
two or more double twisted wire cables upright and in 
place in each outer corner of the upright post. The post 
should stand some months before a heavy fence is 
strained upon it. (See Figures 259 to 264.) 

Where a brace post and cement cross braces are used 
they can easily be built in place. Care must be used in 



FENCES 



381 




FiKiiie 274. Splemliil swing g;ite. IX^iy be t'lmsliucleil (if 
tliiee. fiiur cir mine linrizontfil boards. 



having stiff temporary wooden supports under tlie loni:; 

braces, and if of boards, they must be supported from 

below or by means of nails through the side pieces of 

the molding form. (See Figures 260 and 261.) 

Figure 266 shows a poor method of bracing corner 

posts in which only one brace is used. The corner post 

is easily loosened 

causing a sag in 

the wires. The 

lower end of the 

brace being too 

low tends to lift 

the corner post 

out of the 

ground. If 

placed higher 

without the wire 

from the top of 

the first line post to the bottom of the corner post the 

line post is often pushed over, thus allowing the corner 

post to follow the line post and thus loosen the wire. 
Bracing corner posts. — W'here a single brace is used it 

should not be too 
slanting lest the 
strain from the 
wires, due to 
changing tem- 
peratures, caus- 
ing the wires to 
lengthen a n d 
shorten, pull the 
post out of the 
The 
plan of bracing 

wooden posts shown in Figure 265. is both cheap 

and eflfective. The two blocks on the post, one at 



S 



^ 



Figure 275. Western slide gate. Clieap. simple, serviceable crj-ound 
and durable; fairly convenient. '^ 



382 



FARM DEVF.LOPMliNT 



the l)iiU()m on llic far side and one near the surface 
(jf tlie i;round, help tlie post to liold its load. The twisted 

r.i;;::?«»«»«.^^.. [» closed IM diagonal wire 

°'"' ''^ "' " ^" ^ '^ prevents t h e 

brace post giv- 
ing- way, and 
thus the brace 
is held in place 
and keeps the 
corner post from responding to the ]iull of the wires. 
In starting to erect a wire fence, the planting and brac- 




Fiyuie 2711. Steel slide sate, made of angle iron and woven uire. 




iiigle hinged drive gate of angle iiim :iiiil woven wire. 



ing of corner and end posts is a matter of most careful 

consideration. If the wires, or ribbons of wires, can be 

attached to an 

unyielding post 

at the corner 

they do not sag 

and ser\'e t(T hold 

all the other 

posts in line. 

These end posts 

need t o 1^ e 

]ilanted deeply 

in the ground 

and thorouehlv 




Fignre 27.S. .v l.irgp 
trance to tlie farm lliari 



wide gate better adapted for an en- 
III- a riinnnnii pasture or lane gate. 



FENCES 



383 




Figure 27!i. PiiJdock gate made of 2 x 4 pieces. 




Figure 2S0. Heavy paddock sate. 



384 



FARM DEVELOPMENT 



aiicliured h}' cross |)iccc?i fastened 1<> llieir bolloms 
and braced, as with a rather long tiniljcr, lo to 14 feet. 
reaching some distance along the line of the fence, and 
placed at not too wide an angle with the horizontal, so 
as to avoid pulling the corner post out of the ground. 

Gates. — Gate devices for fences are very numerous 
and the patent office at Washington has very many ap- 
plications for letter^ of patent for special patterns on 

gates. Since 
simplicity is one 
of the first neces- 
sities in a gate, 
complicated 
forms have not 
become popular, 
and the styles of 
gates most in 
use are of ex- 
ceedingly sim- 
ple construction. 
A number of 
for m s which 
have proven 
very useful 
are here illustrated. Since iron and wdre are so much 
more durable and strong, and easily handled, gates made 
of gas pipe, or better, of angle iron and woven wire, or 
other forms of iron, should take the place of wooden gates 
in many situations. AVhere gates are not much 
used, combined wood and wire-hinged gates, and wood 
and iron sliding gates, answer every purpose, and have 
the great advantage of being easily made and easily re- 
paired. Rustic gates, as in Figure 273. may be made 
pretty ; and gates of iron as inconspicuous and therefore 
not out of harmony with other features in making up a 
pretty landscape. 




Figure 2,sl. Stile across a wire fence; wires sliould Ije 
wrapped with clcitli to avoid tearing clothing. 



INDEX 



Page 

Acre-foot, the, of water 258 

Aeration, soil acceleration by cul- 
tivation and drainage .... 70 

Agassiz Lake, the Ancient 44 

Agricultural sciences 30 

substances carry force 19 

technology 31 

Agriculture, Department. See 
Department of Agriculture 

sciences related to 25 

technical education in 3 

Air, movement in plants 69 

movement in soil 69 

spaces in soil 67 

the soil needs 68 

Alkali soils 66, 138, 266 

excess of, washed out by irri- 
gation 267 

Ancient Lake Agassiz 44 

Animals' dependence on plants. . 70 
development from lower 

forms 32 

latent energy 21 

Appliances, surveying and me- 
chanical 156 

Aqueducts, iron 245 

wood 245 

Arable fields 120 

Ashes for road surfaces 325 

Associations, State and National 
good roads, promote road 

building 354 

Assorted till, value as soil 40 

"Backsetting" sod 135 

"Back sight" or "plus sight", 

explanation 191 

Bacteria 125 

Bacteriology 29 

Barbed wire fences 360 

Bargain hunting in buying farm . 94 

Barn buildings 110 

Barnyards and paddocks 107 

Bicycle paths 347 

Blanket, dust 85 

Blank forms, drainage 162 

value 162 

Board drains 227 

Botany 28 

Bracing corner posts 381 

Branch drains 193 

Breaking prairie sod 134 

Breathing pores 69 

Bridges 272, 300, 301 

Brushing the land 117 

Buildings for specialties 108 

Buildings, the barn 1 10 



Page 
Bureau of Soils, Department of 

Agriculture, surveys 93 

Burning the surface peat 131 

Business, farming a good 13 

organization of the farm .... 96 

plan should be stable 98 

the farm the foundation of . . 89 

Capillarity 82 

Capstan plow ditchers 216 

Cernent posts 373 

Chains, surveyors' 162 

Character of farm neighborhood. 91 

Chemicals 125 

Chemistry 27 

Chlorophyll 69 

Cities aid in road building 283 

Cities, good roads help 279 

Classification of soils S3 

mechanical 63 

Clay soils, heavy, notes on 263 

mixing sand into, benefit. . . 137 

Clearing up timber lands 127 

Concrete culvert 301 

Construction, culverts and small 

bridge structures 301 

ditches, farm supply and 

field ■ 259 

road surface 322 

survey for 288 

surveying for 172 

tile drains 200 

Contour survey or cross section . 174 
Conveying water from source to 

farms 252 

Co-operation in roadmaking. 

State encouragement of. . 284 

Corner posts, bracing 381 

Costs and profits, study 146 

data, notes by Maurice O. 

Eldridge 291 

Cost of clearing land of stumps. . 123 

crushed rock 339 

drain tiles 168 

grading 296 

laying tile drains 215 

roads of various widths 297 

sand-clay roads 295 

tiling per acre 215 

Country life education and good 

roads 2 78 

institutions devoted to edu- 
cation for 7 

Crops, certainty and quality of 

increase 1 50 

need irrigation 267 

rotation, provision for 112 



386 



INDEX 



Page 

Cross section or contour survey. . 1 74 

Crowns and side ditches 321 

Crushed rock for macadam roads 330 
Cultivation, accelerates soil aera- 
tion . 70 

irrigated fields require special 2 7 1 

Culvert, concrete 301 

Culverts 300. 301 

Datum plane 185 

Dead furrows 183 

Department of Agricultvtrc, bul- 
letin on measurement of 

irrigation water 258 

Department of Agricultvire, Bu- 
reau of Soils y3 

taking part in drainage 232 

Office of Public Roads, 

281, 334, 353 

reports of drainage 232 

Depth of drains 197 

Devices, grading 205 

Dikes, co-operative care of 230 

pumps and gates 228 

Dirt mulch, value 51, 85 

Ditchers, capstan plow 2\(> 

Ditches i(^i 

field 259 

opening with machinery. ... 212 

roadside 180 

side 321 

Ditch, filling 210 

grading bottom of 202 

laying tiles in 206 

surveying line of 184 

water from, taking onto land 262 

Ditching machinery 212 

plow ■. 220 

Drag, log 344 

or slush scraper 317 

Drainage 140 

accelerates aeration of soil . . 70 
agricultural colleges dealing 

with 232 

benefits 149 

education 232 

effect on soil shown in \'ari- 

ous ways ISO 

Government taking active 

part in 232 

land needing 141 

legislation 146, 153 

localities especially needing. 145 
need, how to determine 

141, 145, 147, 148 

not needing 148 

plats 162 

relation of rainfall 148 

reports of Department of 

Agriculture on 232 

sewers 225 

surface 179 

Drain, clay as material for mak- 
ing 166 

cost of 168 

entrance of water into 170 

injury by freezing 152 



Page 

Drain, laying in ditch 206 

price list of 169 

quality of 169 

size of 196 

tile factories 168 

tiles 166 

Draining roadbed 307 

Drains, branches of 193 

construction of tile 200 

depth to make 197 

making open 216 

obstructions in 231 

opening, with spade 200 

private 155 

section of land with 177 

slope or grade of 194 

stone and board 227 

surface 177 

making a plan for 181 

tile, construction of 200 

cost of laying 215 

mapping out 174 

survey for construction. 172 

vertical and special 221 

Drift, glacial 38 

Drouth, endurance by soil 90 

Durabilitv, roads, points in 305 

Dust blanket 51, 85 

jacket in stone crusher 338 

Earth, economical handling of . . . 313 
general movement of water 

in 85 

geological history of 32 

roads, common 322 

Earth, surfaces, spreading and 

compacting 327 

water, movements in 85 

Earthworms, benefit to soil 68 

Education, drainage 232 

for country life 5 

institutions devoted to. 7 

good roads 353 

in agriculture ; technical .... 3 
Eldridge, Maurice O., notes on 

cost-data 291 

Electricity, relations' of to agri- 
culture 2 7 

Elements recjuired for growth of 

plants 62 

Elevating grader 220, 317 

Elevator machinery for water. . . 247 
Entomology, relations of to agri- 
culture 29 

Excavating cuts and building 

grades 319 

Explosives, nature and use 124 

Falls of St. Anthony, history of. . 44 

the recession of 4 7 

Farm, business organization of 

the 96 

general foundation plans for 

the 96 

healthfulness of 90 

producing capacity of 90 

home, racially most impor- 15 
tant selection of a 89 



INDEX 



387 



Page 

Farms, irrigated, model plans of . 250 

irrigation schemes 248 

Farm, neighborhood, character.. 91 

planning the 96 

proximity to markets 91 

residence 109 

supply ditches 259 

the, foundation of the farm 

business 89 

Fanner, help to, from good roads 277 

Farmers, relation of to roads. ... 352 

value of a strong race of, to 

state 13 

Farming, as a vocation 13, 17 

enterprise in 100 

Farmstead 101 

defined 96 

site of the 101 

Fence posts 371 

Fences, barbed wire 360 

hedge 362 

hurdle and portable 366 

ornamental 367 

paddock 364 

portable 366 

poultry 370 

repairing 359 

various kinds of 3 55 

wooden 361 

woven wire 361 

Fertility, maintenance of soil .... 58 
Fertilizers, more profitable use of 150 

Fertilizing peatv land 132 

Field, ditches 259 

laterals, locating 259 

plans should be platted on 

paper Ill 

stone, uses for 129 

Fields, making them arable 120 

planning of Ill 

Filling the ditch 210 

Film water 75 

Flat lands. 144 

Flooding of low lands, suggestions 145 

Fords 349 

"Foresight", or "minus sight", 

explanation 191 

Forms, blank nd notebook 162 

Free water 7 5 

Freezing, injury to tiles by 152 

Fungi 12 5 

Furrows, dead 183 

Furrow slice 51 

pan 51 

Garden lOS 

Gates 228, 384 

Gates, water 253 

Geological history of the earth ... 32 

Geology 2 7 

some interesting glacial .... 44 

Glacial, drift or till 38 

geology, some interesting. . . 44 

period 36 

Glaciers, materials moved by . . . . 42 



Page 

Good roads, and country life edu- 
cation 278 

education 353 

farm life improved by 278 

help cities and villages 279 

help the farmer 277 

help ^ransportation com- 
panies 2 79 

investment in, pays 277 

literature 353 

Grades building of 319 

formation 311 

materials, and their placing. 320 
or slope, deciding upon the 

amount of 194 

stakes, notes on 199 

Grader, elevating 220, 317 

Grading, cost of 296 

Grading, devices 205 

ditch bottom 202 

Grass lands, partial clearing for. . 126 
Gravel, as surfacing material . . . . 323 
many grades or fonns of. . . . 323 
surfaces, spreading and com- 
pacting 327 

Grubbing, explosives used in. . , . 124 
Health, consideration in locating 

farm 90 

Heavy clay soils 263 

Hedge fences 362 

Hedges, roadside 351 

Highway funds 281 

Hills, formation of morainic .... 39 

Hillsides, springy 143 

terracing 138 

Hilly countries 287 

Home, farm, most important. ... 15 

selection of a farm 89 

training 2 

Hovise, farm 109 

Hurdle fences 366 

Hydrostatic water 83 

Hygroscopic water 83 

Implements, drainage 165 

Institutions, educational, for 

country life 7 

Instrument, new height of, fixing 188 

Instruments, leveling 160 

surveying 158 

Intercontinental highway project 2 73 

Investment in good roads, profit. 277 

Iron aqueduct 245 

Irrigation 234 

and special cultivation 271 

Irrigation, crops needing 267 

laws 242 

schemes for farm 248 

Lake Agassiz, the Ancient 44 

Lake waters 142 

Land, a section with surface 

drains 177 

brushing 117 

clay, notes on 263 

clearing of stumps, cost per 

acre 123 

drainage 148,206,215, 225 



388 



INDEX 



Page 

Land, flat 144 

need of drainage 141 

peaty, clearing and cropping 

130, 132 

subduing the 117 

surfaces, development of 

present 34 

survey, plat of land should 

show 199 

tillage with more ease and 

better profits 151 

Lands, grass, clearing for 126 

plowing and fertilizing peaty 

soil 132 

sewers used to drain 22 5 

underdraining peaty soils. . . 228 

Lanes and roads 107 

Latent energy in plants and 

animals 21 

Laterals, field, locating 259 

Lawn 108 

Laws, irrigation 239, 242 

Laying tile drains, cost of 215 

tiles in the ditch 206 

Legislation, drainage 153 

irrigation 239 

road 280 

Leveling instruments 160 

use of in planning drain. . . . 186 
Levels, how to use measurement 

of 191 

Light, sandy, gravelly or chalky 

soils 64 

Line of the ditch, surveying the . . 184 

Literature, good roads 353 

Locating field laterals 259 

Location, farmstead 101 

Log drag 344 

Lumbermen's ice roads 349 

Macadam road, unit cost of object 

lesson 293 

crushed rock for 330 

placing the layers of 334 

repairing 3-5 

selection of material for . . 332 

Macadam stone roads 330 

Machine, reversible road. . . .219, 314 

Machinery, ditching 212 

drainage 165 

farm, for removing stones. . . 129 

Machinery for elevating water. . . 247 

Manuring peaty soils 134 

Markets, proximity of farm to . . . 91 
Materials, road, for the grade, and 

placing 320 

surface, mixing 325 

Mathematics as related to agri- 
culture 26 

Measurement of levels, how to vise 191 

Measuring weir 2 54 

cost of constructing 256 

Mechanical, appliances and sur- 
veying 156, 245, 286 

classification of soils 63 

Mechanics as related to agricvil- 

turc 26 



Medium, soils 65 

textured soils 264 

Meteorology, remarks 28 

Mileage of roads in United States 284 

Miners' inch. , 257 

"Minus sight" or "fore sight," 

explanation 191 

Mixing surface materials 325 

Model plan of irrigated farm. . . . 250 

Modern road building. 272 

Moorlands, soil formation on . . . . 56 

Morainic hills, the formation of. . 39 

Mulch, dirt, and dust blanket. . . 85 

Natural history 33 

Neighborhood, character of 91 

Notebook, drainage 162 

Object lesson macadam road, unit 

cost of 293 

Obstructions, open drains should 

be kept free from 231 

Open drains 216 

should be kept free from 

obstructions 231 

Orchard 108 

Organization, farm business 96 

Origin of the great prairies 41 

Ornamental fences 367 

Outlets, drainage 213 

Paddock fences 364 

Paddocks and barnyards 107 

Pasturing, solidifying by 131 

Paths, bicycle 347 

Peat, burning the surface 131 

Peaty lands, clearing of trees, etc. 130 

growing crops on 132 

plowing and pulverizing. ... 132 

underdraining 228 

Peaty soils 65 

manuring 134 

Physics as related to agriculture 26 

Physics, road 303 

Pike districts 283 

Pioneer roads, locating 286 

Plan for surface drains 181 

Planning, farm 96 

Plans, farm, general foundation. 96 
Plant compounds are storage 

batteries 19 

Plants, air movement in 69 

development from lower 

forms 32 

latent energy in 21 

Plants, and the soil w^ater 71 

animals depend on 70 

elements required for use of. 62 

relation of air to soil and ... 67 

substances used by 62 

Plat, land, should show the gen- 
eral land survey 199 

Plats, drainage 162 

Plow, ditchers 216 

for ditching. 220 

Plowing, and subsoiling 71 

l>reaking prairie sod 134 

Ijeaty land 132 

Plowing peaty lands -'32 



INDEX 



389 



Page 
"Plus sight", or "back sight", 

explanation 191 

Ponds 142 

Portable fences 366 

Posts 358, 371 

Posts, bracing corner 381 

cement 373 

setting 358 

Poultry fences 370 

Power amount of, reiiuired to 

draw a load 342 

Prairies, great, origin of 41 

Prairie sod, breaking 134 

Preliminary survey 286 

Price list of drain tiles 169 

Private drains 155 

Production, soil, capacity 90 

Profile, how to make a, of level 

survey 192 

Profits, and cost must be carefully 

studied 146 

better, from land 151 

Puddling of clay Soils 304 

Pumps 228 

Rainfall, relation to drainage. . . . 148 
Ravelling of stones from the sur- 
face of stone road 345 

Red River of the North, valley of 145 

Relation of farmers to roads 352 

Repairs, fence 359 

macadam and telford rcjad. . 345 

road 306, 342 

Residence on the farm 109 

Resistance to traction 305 

Revolving screen in stone crusher 338 

Roadbed 307 

draining the 307 

Road building, economy in hand- 
ling earth 313 

modem 272 

need of pushing 276 

neglect 276 

Road, legislation 280 

machine, reversible 219, 314 

surface, ashes useful for 

hardening 325 

constructing the 322 

specifications for 289 

telford 336 

width of 312 

Roads, and bridges 272 

and lanes 107 

common earth and sand. . . . 322 

repairing 342 

cost of sand-clay 295 

locating 286 

lumberman's ice 349 

macadam, placing layers. . . 334 

metal 324 

mileage in United States. . . . 284 
of various widths, cost of . . . 29 7 

physics of 303 

pioneer, locating 286 

relation of farmers to 352 

repairing of 342 

selection of material 332 



Roads, snow 346 

stone 330 

stones which are valuable for 323 

unit cost 293 

wood 324 

Roadside, ditches 180 

trees 351 

weeds 351 

Rock, crushed, cost of 339 

crushers 337, 338 

for macadam roads 330 

igneous 35 

quantities required for differ- 
ent widths and depths. . 339 

Rods, surveyors' 162 

Root hairs 71 

Roots, of field crops 72 

removal from peaty lands. . . 130 
trees, 'protection of drains 

from .•:•••. 210 

Rotation, crop, provision for sys- 
tematic 112 

Sand-clay roads, cost of 295 

Sand, mixing into clay soils 137 

roads 322 

Sandy soils, light 64 

Science, relation of to agriculture 25 

Sciences, agricultural 30 

Scraper, slush 317 

Screen, revolving in stone crusner 338 

Seepage water 138 

Sewers, drainage 225 

Shelter belts, farmstead 102 

Side ditches 321 

Silt wells in drainage 213 

Sinkholes 142 

Site of the farmstead 101 

Slope or grade, deciding upon 

amount of 194 

Sloughs 141 

Slush scraper 317 

Snow roads 346 

Sod, backsetting 135 

breaking prairie 134 

Soil, aeration, acceleration by cul- 
tivation, and drainage ... 70 

air movement in 69 

assorted till, qualitv 40 

body 61 

classification 53 

color of 65 

cultivation, acceleration of 

aeration 70 

drainage, acceleration of aer- 
ation 70 

effect of drainage on, is 

shown in various wavs. 150 

fertility "... 61 

sustaining 58 

formation 51, 52 

agencies in 54 

favorable conditions. . . 57 

under difficulties 55 

formation on moorlands. ... 56 
production, capacity for. ... 90 
relations 67 



390 



INDEX 



Page 

Soil, sponge-like action of 80 

stratification of 148 

substances, toxic, theory of. 60 

survey ^3 

unassorted till, quality 39 

water and the plant 71 

Soils, air spaces 67 

alkaline 66, 138, 266 

areas of types of 53 

Bureau of, Department of 

Agriculture ''3 

chalky 64 

classification of 5i 

mechanical 63 

clay, mixing sand intn. 137 

drainage, effect .slinwn in 

various ways ISO 

excess of alkali in, washed 

out by irrigation 267 

formed in place 43 

gravelly 64 

heavy clay 263 

hungry 64 

judging, care needed 92 

light sandy 64 

manuring peaty 134 

mechanical classification of 63 

medium 65 

medium texture 264 

mixing sand into clay 137 

Soils, movement of air in 69 

peaty 65 

puddling of clay 304 

quality, discussion of 58 

room for air in 67 

solidifying by pasturing. ... 131 

warm 64 

water holding power varies 

with different 81 

Sources, water 238 

Spade, opening drains with 200 

Specialized plants and animals. . 23 

Specialties, building for 108 

Specifications for the road surface 289 

Split log drag 344 

Spreading earth and gravel svir- 

faces 32 7 

Springy hillsides 143 

Stakes, grade, notes 199 

surveyors' 162 

St. Anthony Falls, history and 

changes 44, 47 

State, benefit by strong race of 

farmers 13 

co-operation in roadmaking 
should be encouraged bv 

the 284 

Stomata 69 

Stone, drains 227 

field, uses for 129 

road, loosening of stone from 

the surface of 3 45 

worn, reconstruction 346 

Stones, removing 128 

road, value 323 

Stones, uses for field 129 



Stratification, soil 148 

vStudy, agricultural, interesting 

and useful 16 

Stumps, burning to remove 126 

clearing land of, cost per acre 123 
Stump land, seeding to grass. ... 126 

pullers, use of 121 

Subirrigation 271 

Subsoil 51 

Subsoiling 71 

Success, enterprise as factor 100 

Surface, drainage 179 

plans for 181 

drains, a section of land with 177 

making a plan for 181 

grade, width of depends upon 

various conditions 312 

materials, mixing 325 

peat, burning the 131 

road, specifications 289 

Svirfacing material, road, gravel 

as 323 

mixing of 325 

properties of 305 

Survey, contour or cross section 174 

of roadway. . 288 

for construction of tile drains 172 
land, plat of land shovild 

show 199 

notes, drain, should be well 

preserved 162 

preliminary 286 

Surveying, and mechanical appli 

ances 156, 245, 286 

instruments 158 

line of the ditch 184 

new height of instrument, 

fixing 188 

stakes and tapes 162 

transit 158 

Surveyors' notes should be pre- 
served 199 

Survey, special notes 198 

Swamps 142 

Swampy countries 287 

Tailings from rock crusher 338 

Tapes, surveyors' 162 

Taxation, method of 282 

Technical education in agrictil- 

ture 3 

Technology, agriculttiral 31 

Telford road 336 

roads, repairing 345 

Terracing hillsides 138 

Tile drains, construction of 200 

cost of laying 215 

mapping of 174 

opening ditches for 200 

svirvey for construction of. . 172 

Tiles, drain 166 

injury of by freezing 152 

ciuality of clay used in 166 

Tiles, drain, laying in the ditch. . 206 
protecting from the roots of 

trees 210 

imion at branches of 207 



INDEX 



391 



Page 

Tiles, size of 196 

Till, assorted, soil value 40 

glacial 38 

Timber lands, fire as a means of 

clearing up 127 

Time of the day to supply water. 270 

year in which to supply water 267 

Tools, farm 129 

Toxic soil substances, theory of. . 60 

Tractioi , resistance to 305 

Transit, surveyors' 158 

Transportation companies, good 

roads help 279 

Tree roots, drain obstruction by 210 

Trees, removal from peaty land. . 130 

roadside 351 

Types of soils, areas of 53 

Unassorted till formed gnud soils 39 

Underdraining peaty lands 22cS 

Undulating country 41 

Unit cost of object-lesson maca- 
dam road, Springfield, Mo. 293 
Value of soils, care in judging the 92 

Vertical drains 221 

Villages, help from good roads. . . 2 79 

Vocation, farming as a 13 

Vocations, farming is rising in 

the scale among 17 

Wagons, wide tire 344 

Water, acre-foot of 258 

conveying from source ti' 

farms 252 

entrance of into drain tile. . . 1 70 

film and free 75 



Page 

Water, gates 253 

general movements of, in the 

earth 85 

holding power \-aries with 

different soils 81 

hydrostatic 83 

hygroscopic 83 

machinery for elevating. . . . 247 

measuring of 2 54, 258 

movements in the earth. ... 85 

sources of 238 

taking from ditches upon the 

land 262 

time of the day to supply. . . 2 70 
time of the year in which to 

supply 267 

Waters, lake 142 

Waterways, use and improvement 

of ' 151 

Weeds, roadside 351 

Weir, measuring 254 

Wide tire wagons 344 

Width of road 312 

Width of the surface grade de- 
pends upon various condi- 
tions 312 

Windbreaks, farmstead 102 

Wire fence 361 

Wood and metal roadways 324 

Wood aqueducts, need 245 

Wooden fences 361 

Worms, earth, benefit to soil .... 68 

Woven wire fences 361 

Zoology 29 



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JJoils 

By Charles William Burkett, Director Kaii^sas Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station. Ihe most complete and popular 
work of the kind ever published. As a rule, a book of this 
sort is dry and uninteresting, but in this case it reads like a 
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ment, as well as a discussion of the problems of crop growing 
and crop feeding, make this book equally valuable to tb^ 
farmer, student and teacher. 

There are many illustrations of a practical character, each 
one suggesting some fundamental principle in soil manage 
ment. 303 pages. 5J^ x 8 inches. Cloth $1.:^ 



Insects Injurious to Vegetables 

By Dr. F. H. Chittenden, of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. A complete, practical work giving 
descriptions of the more important insects attacking vegetables 
of all kinds with simple and inexpensive remedies to check and 
destroy them, together with timely suggestions to prevent their 
recurrence. A ready reference book for truckers, market- 
gardeners, farmers as well as others who grow vegetables m n 
small way for home use ; a valuable guide for college and ex- 
periment station workers, school-teachers and others interested 
in entomology of nature study. Profusely illustrated. 'tlA x 8 
inches. 300 pages. Cloth, j, » ' wi. • • • ■ $l-iW 



The Cereals in America 

By Thomas F. Hunt, M.S., D.Agri., Professor of Agron- 
omy, Cornell University. If yon raise five acres of any kind 
of grain you cannot afford to be without this book. It is in 
every way the best book on the subject that has ever been 
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written upon the subject. Illustrated. 450 pages. 5V2 x 8 
inches. Cloth $i.75 

The Forage and Fiber Crops in America 

By Thomas F. Hunt. This book is exactly what its title 
indicates. It is indispensable to the farmer, student and teacher 
who wishes all the latest and most important information on 
the subject of forage and fiber crops. Like its famous com- 
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The Book of Alfalfa 

History, Cultivation and Merits. Its Uses as a Forage 
and Fertilizer. The appearance of the Hon. F. D. Corurn's 
little book on Alfalfa a few years ago has been a profit revela- 
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336 pages. 6J/2 X 9 inches. Bound in cloth, with goid stamp- 
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Clean Milk 

By S. D. Belcher, M.D. In this book the author sets forth 
practical methods for the exclusion of bacteria from milk, 
and how to prevent contamination of milk from the stable to 
the consumer. Illustrated. 5x7 inches. 146 pages. 
Cloth * ' » . . . . $1.01 



Bean Culture 

P.}^ Gi.ENN C Sf.viov, B.S. a practical treatise on the pro- 
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growth, soils and fertilizers adapted, best varieties, seed selec- 
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Celery Culture 

By W. R. Beattie. a practical guide for beginners and a 
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150 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $0.50 

Tomato Culture 

By Will W. Tracy. The author has rounded up in this 
book the most complete account of tomato culture in all its 
phases that has ever been gotten together. It is no second- 
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No gardener or farmer can afiford to be without the book. 
Whether grown for home use or commercial purposes, the 
reader has here suggestions and information nowhere else 
available. Illustrated. 150 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. $0.50 

The Potato 

By Samuel Fraser. This book is destined to rank as a 
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has been emphasized, the scientific part has not been neglected, 
and the information given is of value, both to the grower and 
the student. Taken all in all. it is the most complete, reliable 
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Illustrated. 200 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $0.75 

Dwarf Fruit Trees 

By F. a. Waugh. This interesting book describes in detail 
the several varieties of dwarf fruit trees, their propagation, 
planting, pruning, care and general management. Where there 
is a limited amount of ground to be devoted to orchard pur- 
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with a warm welcome. Illustrated. 112 pages. 5x7 inches. 
Cloth $0.50 



Alfalfa 

By 1'. I). CoBURN. Its growth, uses, and feeding value. 

The fact tliat alfalfa thrives in almost any soil; that without 
reseeding, it goes on yielding two, three, four, and sometimes 
five cuttings annually for five, ten, or perhaps lOO years; and 
that either green or cured it is one of the most nutritious 
forage plants known, makes reliable information upon its pro- 
duction and uses of unusual interest. Such information is 
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authority. Illustrated. 164 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth, $0.50 

Ginseng, Its Cultivation, Harvesting-, Market- 
ing and Market Value 

By jMaurice G. Kains, with a short account of its history 
and botany It discusses in a practical way how to begin with 
either seed or roots, soil, climate and location, preparation, 
planting and maintenance of the beds, artificial propagation, 
manures, enemies, selection for market and for improvement, 
preparation for sale, and the profits that may be expected. 
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this drug to supply the export trade, and to add a new and 
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fering with the regular wo' . New edition. Revised and en- 
larged. Illustrated. 5x7 inches. Cloth. . , . $0.50 

Landscape Gardening 

By F. A. Waugh, professor of horticulture, university of 
Vermont. A treatise on the general principles governing 
outdoor art; with sundry suggestions for their application 
in the commoner problems of gadening. Every paragraph is 
short, terse and to the point, giving perfect clearness to the 
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152 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $0.50 

Hedges, Windbreaks, Shelters and Live Fences 

By E. P. Powell. A treatise on the planting, growth 
and management of hedge plants for country and suburban 
homes. It gives accurate directions concerning hedges; how 
to plant and how to treat them ; and especially concerning 
windbreaks and shelters. It includes the whole art of making 
a delightful tome, giving directions for nooks and balconies, 
for bird culture and for human comfort. Illustrated. 140 
pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. ,,,,,, $0.50 



Farm Grasses of the United States of America 

By William Jasper Spillman. A practical treatise on 
the grass crop, seeding and management of meadows and 
pastures, description of the best varieties, the seed and its 
impurities, grasses for special conditions, lawns and lawn 
grasses, etc., etc. In preparing this volume the author's object 
has been to present, in connected form, the main facts con- 
cerning the grasses grown on American farms. Every phase 
of the subject is viewed from the farmer's standpoint. Illus- 
trated, 248 pages, 5x7 inches. Cloth. . . , $1.00 

The Book of Corn 

By Herbert Myrick, assisted by A. D. Shamel, E. A. 
Burnett, Albert W. Fulton, B. W. Snow, and other most 
capable specialists. A complete treatise on the culture, 
marketing and uses of maize in America and elsewhere, for 
farmers, dealers and others. Illustrated. 372 pages. 5x7 
inches. Cloth, $1.50 

The Hop — Its Culture and Care, Marketing 

and Manufacture 

By Herbert Myrick. A practical handbook on the most 
approved methods in growing, harvesting, curing and selling 
hops, and on the use and manufacture of hops. The result of 
years of research and observation, it is a volume destined to be 
an authority on this crop for many years to come. It takes up 
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to curing and selling the crop. Every line represents the 
ripest judgment and experience of experts. Size, 5x8; pages, 
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postpaid, $1.50 

Tobacco Leaf 

By J. B. Killebrew and Herbert Myrick. Its Culture 
and Cure, Marketing and Manufacture. A practical handbook 
on the most approved methods in growing, harvesting, curing, 
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contents of this book are based on actual experiments in field, 
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engravings, 5x7 inches. Cloth $2.00 



Bulbs and Tuberous-Rooted Plants 

By C. L. Allen. A complete treatise on the history, 
description, methods ol proi)agati()n and full directions for 
fhe successful culture of buibs m the garden, dwelling and 
greenhouse. The author of this book has for many years 
made bulb growing a specialty, and is a recognized authority 
on their cultivation and management. The cultural direc- 
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illustrations which embellish this work have been drawn 
from nature and have been engraved especially for this 
book. 312 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $1.50 

Fumigation Methods 

By Willis G. Johnson. A timely up-to-date book on 
the practical application of the new methods for destroying 
insects with hydrocyanic acid gas and carbon bisulphid, the 
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ers, florists, millers, grain dealers, transportation companies, 
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pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $i.cx3 

Diseases of Swine 

By Dr. R. A. Craig. Professor of Veterinary Medicine at 
the Purdue University. A concise, practical and popular guide 
to the prevention and treatment of the diseases of swine. With 
the discussions on each disease are given its causes, symptoms, 
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the practical stock raiser as well as to the teacher and student. 
Illustrated. 5x7 inches. 190 pages. Cloth $0.7.«; 

Spraying Crops — Why, When and How 

By Clarence M. Weed, D.Sc. The present fourth edition 
has been rewritten and reset throughout to bring it thoroughly 
up to date, so that it embodies the latest practical information 
gleaned by fruit growers and experiment station workers. So 
much new information has come to light since the third edition 
was published that this is practically a new book, needed by 
those who have utilized the earlier editions, as well as by fruit 
growers and farmers generally. Illustrated. 136 pages. 5x7 
inches. Cloth $0.50 



Successful Fruit Culture 

By Samuel T. Maynard. A practical guide to the culti- 
vation and propagation of Fruits, written from the standpoint 
of the practical fruit grower who is striving to make his 
business profitable by growing the best fruit possible and at 
the least cost. It is up-to-date in every particular, and covers 
the entire practice of fruit culture, harvesting, storing, mar- 
keting, forcing, best varieties, etc., etc. It deals with principles 
first and with the practice afterwards, as the foundation, prin- 
ciples of plant growth and nourishment must always remain 
the same, while practice will vary according to the fruit, 
growers immediate conditions and environments. Illustrated. 
265 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $1.00 

Plums and Plum Culture 

By F. A. Waugh. A complete manual for fruit growers, 
nurserymen, farmers and gardeners, on all known varieties 
of plums and their successful management. This book marks 
an epoch in the horticultural literature of America. It is a 
complete monograph of the plums cultivated in and indigenous 
to North America. It will be found indispensable to the 
scientist seeking the most recent and authoritative informa- 
tion concerning this group, to the nurseryman who wishes to 
handle his varieties accurately and intelHngently, and to the 
cultivator who would like to grow plums successfully. Illus- 
trated. 391 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. . . . $1.50 

Fruit Harvesting, Storing, Marketing 

By F. A. Waugh. A practical guide to the picking, stor- 
ing, shipping and marketing of fruit. The principal subjects 
covered are the fruit market, fruit picking, sorting and pack- 
ing, the fruit storage, evaporating, canning, statistics of the 
fruit trade, fruit package laws, commission dealers and dealing, 
cold storage, ete., etc. No progressive fruit grower can afford 
to be without this most valuable book. Illustrated. 232 pages. 
5x7 inches. Cloth $l.OC 

Systematic Pomology 

By F. A. Waugh, professor of horticulture and landscape 
gardening in the Massachusetts agricultural college, formerly 
of the university of Vermont. This is the first book in the 
English language which has ever made the attempt at a com- 
plete and comprehensive treatment of systematic pomology. 
It presents clearly and in detail the whole method by which 
fruits are studied. The book is suitably illustrated. 288 pages. 
3x7 inches. Qoth. ........ $1.00 



Feeding Farm Animals 

By Professor Thomas Shaw. This book is intended alike 
for the student and the farmer. The author has succeeded in 
giving in regular and orderly sequence, and in language so 
simple that a child can understand it, the principles that govern 
the science and practice of feeding farm animals. Professor 
Shaw is certainly to be congratulated on the successful manner 
in which he has accomplished a most difficult task. His book 
is unquestionably the most practical work which has appeared 
on the subject of feeding farm animals. Illustrated. 55/2 x 8 
inches. Upward of 500 pages. Cloth $2.00 



Profitable Dairying 

By C. L. Peck. A practical guide to successful dairy man- 
agement. The treatment of the entire subject is thoroughly 
practical, being principally a description of the methods prac- 
ticed by the author. A specially valuable part of this book 
consists of a minute description of the far-famed model dairy 
farm of Rev. J. D. Detrich, near Philadelphia. Pa. On this 
farm of fifteen acres, which twenty years ago could not main- 
tain one horse and two cows, there are now kept twenty-seven 
dairy cattle, in addition to two horses. All the roughage, 
litter, bedding, etc., necessary for these animals are grown, on 
these fifteen acres, more than most farmers could accomplish 
on one hundred acres. Illustrated, s x 7 inches. 200 pages, 
Cloth $0.75 

Practical Dairy Bacteriology 

By Dr. H. W. Conn, of Wesleyan University. A complete 
exposition of important facts concerning the relation of bacteria 
to various problems related to milk. A book for the class- 
room, laboratorv, factory and farm. Equally useful to the 
teacher, student, factory man and practical dairyman. Fully 
illustrated with 83 original pictures. 340 pages. Cloth. 
Sy2 X 8 inches $i-25 



Modern Methods of Testing Milk and Milk 
Products 

By L. L. VanSlyke. This is a clear and concise discussion 
of the approved methods of testing milk and milk products. 
All the questions involved in the various methods of testing 
milk and cream are handled with rare skill and yet in so plain 
a manner that they can be fully understood by all. The book 
shfiuld be in the hands of every dairyman, teacher or student. 
Illustr.-itcd. 214 pages. $ x j inches $0-75 



Animal Breeding 

By Thomas Shaw. This book is the most complete and 
comprehensive work ever published on the subject of which 
it treats. It is the first book which has systematized the subject 
of animal breeding. The leading laws which govern this 
most intricate question the author has boldly defined and 
authoritatively arranged. The chapters which he has written 
on the more involved features of the subject, as sex and the 
relative influence of parents, should go far toward setting at 
rest the wildly speculative views cherished with reference to 
these questions. The striking originality in the treatment of 
the subject is no less conspicuous than the superb order and 
regular sequence of thought from the beginning to the end 
of the book. The book is intended to meet the needs of all 
persons interested in the breeding and rearing of live stock. 
Illustrated. 405 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. . . $1.50 

Forage Crops Other Than Grasses 

By Thomas Shaw. How to cultivate, harvest and use 
them. Indian corn, sorghum, clover, leguminous plants, crops 
of the brassica genus, the cereals, millet, field roots, etc. 
Intensely practical and reliable. Illustrated. 287 pages. 5x7 
inches. Cloth. $1.00 

Soiling Crops and the Silo 

By Thomas Shaw. The growing and feeding of all kinds 
of soiling crops, conditions to which they are adapted, their 
plan in the rotation, etc. Not a line is repeated from the 
Forage Crops book. Best methods of building the silo, filling 
it and feeding ensilage. Illustrated. 364 pages. 5x7 inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

The Study of Breeds 

By Thomas Shaw. Origin, history, distribution, charac- 
teristics, adaptability, uses, and standards of excellence of all 
pedigreed breeds of cattle, sheep and swine in America. The 
accepted text book in colleges, and the authority for 
farmers and breeders. Illustrated. 371 pages. 5x7 inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

Clovers and How to Grow Them 

By Thomas Shaw. This is the first book published which 
treats on the growth, cultivation and treatment of clovers as 
applicable to all parts of the United States and Canada, and 
which takes up the entire subject in a systematic way and 
consecutive sequence. The importance of clover in the econ- 
omy of the farm is so great that an exhaustive work on this 
subject will no doubt be welcomed by students in agriculture. 
as well as by all who are interested in the tilling of t^e soil. 
Tllnstrated. s x 7 inches. .337 pages* Cloth. Net. . .$1.00 



Land Draining 

A handbook for farmers on the principles and practice of 
draining, by Manly Miles, giving the results of his extended 
experience in laying tile drains. The directions for the laying 
out and the construction of tile drains will enable the farmer 
to avoid the errors of imperfect construction, and the disap- 
pointment that must necessarily follow. This manual for 
practical farmers will also be found convenient for reference 
in regard to many questions that may arise in crop growing, 
aside from the special subjects of drainage of which it treats. 
Illustrated. 200 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. . . $1.00 

Barn Plans and Outbuildings 

Two hundred and fifty-seven illustrations. A most valu- 
able work, full of ideas, hints, suggestions, plans, etc., for the 
construction of barns and outbuildings, by practical writers. 
Chapters are devoted to the economic erection and use of 
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houses, smokehouses, icehouses, pig pens, granaries, etc. 
There are likewise chapters on birdhouses, doghouses, tool 
sheds, ventilators, roofs and roofing, doors and fastenings, 
workshops, poultry houses, mar.urc sheds, barnyards, root pits, 
etc. 235 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $1,00 

Irrigation Farming 

By Lute Wilcox. A handbook for the practical applica- 
tion of water in the production of crops. A complete treatise 
on water supply, canal construction, reservoirs and ponds, 
pipes for irrigation purposes, flumes and their structure, 
methods of applying water, irrigation of field crops, the 
garden, the orchard and vineyard, windmills and pumps, 
appliances and contrivances. New edition, revised, enlarged 
and rewritten. Profusely illustrated. Over 500 pages. 5x7 
inches. Cloth. $2.00 

Forest Planting 

By H. Nicholas Jarchow, LL. D. A treatise on the care 
of woodlands and the restoration of the denuded timberlands 
on plains and mountains. The author has fully described 
those European methods which have proved to be most useful 
in maintaining the superb forests of the old world. This expe- 
rience has been adapted to the different climates and trees of 
America, full instructions being given for forest planting of 
our various kinds of soil and subsoil, whether on mountain 
or valley. Illustrated. 250 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth. $1.50 



The New Egg Farm 

By H. H. Stoddard. A practical, reliable manual on 
producing eggs and poultry for market as a profitable business 
enterprise, either by itself or connected with other branches 
of agriculture. It tells all about how to feed and manage, 
how to breed and select, incubators and brooders, its labor- 
saving devices, etc., etc. Illustrated. 331 pages. 5x7 inches. 
Cloth. $1.00 

Poultry Feeding and Fattening 

Compiled by G. B. Fiske. A handbook for poultry keep- 
ers on the standard and improved methods of feeding and 
marketing all kinds of poultry. The subject of feeding and 
fattening poultry is prepared largely from the side of the 
best practice and experience here and abroad, although the 
underlying science of feeding is explained as fully as needful. 
The subject covers all branches, including chickens, broilers, 
capons, turkeys and waterfowl ; how to feed under various 
conditions and for different purposes. The whole subject of 
capons and caponizing is treated in detail. A great mass of 
practical information and experience not readily obtainable 
elsewhere is given with full and explicit directions for fatten- 
ing and preparing for market. This book will meet the needs 
of amateurs as well as commercial poultry raisers. Profusely 
illustrated. 160 pages. 5x71-2 indies. Cloth. . $0.50 

Poultry Architecture 

Compiled by G. B. Ftske. A treatise on poultry buildings 
of all grades, styles and classes, and their proper location, 
coops, additions and special construction ; all practical in de- 
sign, and reasonable in cost. Over 100 illustrations. 125 pages. 
5x7 inches. Cloth $0.50 

Poultry Appliances and Handicraft 

Compiled by G. B. Fiske. Illustrated descriptions of a 
great variety and styles of the best homemade nests, roosts, 
windows, ventilators, incubators and brooders, feeding and 
watering appliances, etc., etc. Over 100 illustrations. Over 
125 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth $0.50 

Turkeys and How to Grow Them 

Edited by Herbert Myrick. A treatise on the natural 
history and origin of the name of turkeys; the various breeds, 
the best methods to insure success in the business of turkey 
growing. With essays from practical turkey growers in 
different parts of the United States and Canada. Copiously 
illustrated. 154 pages. 5x7 inches. Cloth . , , $1.00 



Rural School Agriculture 

By Charles W. Davis. A book intended for the use of 
both teachers and pupils. Its aim is to enlist the interest of 
the boys of the iarm and awaken in their minds the fact that 
the problems of the farm are great enough to command all 
the brain power they can summon. The book is a manual 
of exercises covering many phases of agriculture, and it may 
be used with any text-book of agriculture, or without a text- 
book. The exercises will enable the student to think, and to 
work out the scientific principles underlying some of the most 
important agricultural operations. The author feels that in the 
teaching of agriculture in the rural schools, the laboratory phase 
is almost entirely neglected. If an experiment helps the pupil to 
think, or makes his conceptions clearer, it fills a useful purpose, 
and eventually prepares for successful work upon the farm. 
The successful farmer of the future must be an experimenter 
in a small way. Following many of the exercises are a number 
of questions which prepare the way for further research work. 
The material needed for performing the experiments is simple, 
and can be devised by the teacher and pupils, or brought from 
the homes. Illustrated. 300 pages. Cloth. 5 x 7 inches. $1.00 

Agriculture Through the Laboratory and School 
Garden 

By C. R. Jackson and Mrs. L. S. Daugherty. As its name 
miplies. this book gives explicit directions for actual work in 
the laboratory and the school garden, through which agri 
cultural principles may be taught. The author's aim has been 
to present actual experimental work in every phase of the 
subject possible, and to state the directions for such work so 
that the student can perform it independently of the teacher, 
and to .state them in such a way that the results will not l»e 
suggested by these directions. One must perform the experi- 
ment to ascertain the result. It embodies in the text a com- 
prehensive, practical, scientific, yet simple discussion of such 
facts as are necessary to the understanding of many of the 
agricultural principles involved in every-day life. The book, 
although primarily intended for use in schools, is equally 
valuable to any one desiring to obtain in an easy and pleasing 
manner a general knowledge of elementary agriculture. Fully 
illustrated. sVz ^ 8 inches. 462 pages. Cloth. Net . $1.50 

Soil Physics Laboratory Guide 

By W. G. Stevenson and I. O. Schaub. A carefully out- 
lined series of experiments in soil physics. A portion of the 
experiments outlined in this guide have been used quite gen- 
erally in recent years. The exercises (of which there are 40) 
are listed in a logical order with reference to their relation 
to each other and the skill required on the part of the student. 
Illustrated. About 100 pages. 5 x 7 inches. Cloth. . $0.50 













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